Picking Up The Pieces
by bassetfan
Summary: Sequel to Crashing Down. The crew are given shore leave, and Lucas and Dagwood are invited to spend Christmas with Tony's family.
1. Chapter 1

_Forgot to put a disclaimer in my last story! I don't own seaQuest, or any of it's characters, but I would have taken better care of them if I had!_

 _I loved Season One, thought Season Two was ridiculous and Season Three, depressing. But I'm writing Season Three, because that's where they left it. However, I have taken some liberties with the timeline, since the episode Second Chance took place in October, and I wanted this to be set over Christmas._

 _I was planning for this to be a completely different story, but it ended up going in another direction, and didn't progress as clearly as the first one. Hope you enjoy it anyway!_

* * *

Lucas Wolenczak stretched in his bed. He regretted it as soon as a bolt of pain shot down his back. He waited for a moment until it calmed, and surveyed the room. Despite everything, he smiled.

It felt good to be back with his friends. Lucas could hear Tony singing in the shower, off key, but with great enthusiasm. Dagwood sat on his bunk, polishing his boots. He looked up and smiled an answering smile.

"Good morning, Lucas!"

"Morning, Dagwood."

He saw a shape start to twirl in the aquatube. "And good morning Darwin!" He simultaneously signed with his hand as he spoke.

He began to push himself up to a sitting position, and Dagwood started to move over to him.

"No, it's okay Dagwood, I'm okay."

Dagwood stood uncertainly, watching him.

Tony came out of the shower. "Hey, Luke, you're awake!"

Lucas smiled, "Don't call me Luke."

Tony grinned back. "Hey, that was some party last night, you can fit a lot of people in this room!"

"I'm not sure that's why Hudson gave us this room, but, yes, you can! Might be an idea not to push it too much with the parties, though. We don't want to get kicked out!"

Even though he was joking when he said it, there was still a small part of him that was waiting for everything to go wrong again.

Tony knew his roommate well enough to guess his thoughts.

"Hey, it was just a small 'welcome back' party. Not planning on doing it every week!"

He looked at Dagwood, standing in the middle of the room. "What's up, big guy?"

"I just want to help Lucas if he needs anything."

Tony looked over at Lucas. "Do ya?"

Lucas smiled, he knew they were just trying to help. "No thanks. I've got to learn to do things by myself sooner or later."

"I think we'd all be happier if it was a little later. It's only your first day out of the med-bay."

"I know. Have you finished with the bathroom?"

He'd planned on waiting until they both left. He needed to do this by himself, but he still had a few problems moving around and everything was a struggle. Doctor Perry said that it would improve once he had more practice and greater upper body strength, but for the moment, he was embarrassed by his clumsiness, and didn't want them to be witnesses to his mistakes. However, his bladder had other ideas, and since everything took him so much longer, he needed to start now.

He tried not to notice that the other two were watching him intently. He pulled his chair into position and, gripping it firmly, moved himself into it. As seemed to be his habit now whenever he moved, he gave a small gasp of pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dagwood start to move toward him as Tony gently shook his head.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I really get nervous when you're watching me like that."

"We're not watching you, you're becoming paranoid."

"Tony, you got out of the shower five minutes ago and you haven't even combed your hair or started to get dressed."

"Just giving you guys a moment to enjoy what women across the world would pay to see. Me in a towel!"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh. "Pay to see you, huh? Hope you can make change...!"

He wheeled himself to the bathroom and took care of his immediate needs. The next part was going to be harder. He had not yet tried to shower by himself, and he was very nervous. He was terrified that he would slip and have to be rescued, buck naked, by his roommates.

He checked that everything was where it should be - towel, soap, shampoo, robe - and then moved into position. He knew from the silence in the other room that they were both listening to hear if he was okay.

He plucked up his courage and moved into position. He smiled as an analogy came into his mind - lining up the shot. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, took a calming breath, and moved over to the shower seat.

It was easy! He didn't fall, he had done it. He let out the breath he was holding. He almost wanted to shout to the guys outside, 'it's okay, I did it!' Actually, he thought, they'd love that; they'd probably rush into the bathroom and throw him another party! He smiled at the thought.

The shower felt wonderful. He hadn't been able to shower in weeks. First the accident, then the hospital (he pushed that thought away, he tried not to think of it), then all the problems he'd had because of... that place. He'd had sponge baths, and even a real bath, with a med tech who had washed him and dried him as though he were a child. He had been very weak, but being washed like that... He flushed as he remembered. He could never look that tech in the face again.

He washed himself and shampooed his hair until he felt that the past few weeks had been washed away. Because their new accommodations used to be V.I.P. guest quarters, they had a real shower, and he luxuriated in the hot water for as long as he could. So long, in fact, that soon Tony knocked on the door.

"Hey, kid, you alright in there?"

"Yes! I'm fine." He reached over and turned off the tap. "Just finishing up."

When he came out, Tony was still there, waiting for him.

"Sorry. It's been a while. Feels good to be clean again."

"No, I'm sorry. We was just worried about you, that's all."

"I know. Thanks."

"So, I've got to start my shift, can I get you anything before I go?"

"No thanks, I'm fine." He suddenly noticed that the Gelf wasn't there. "Is Dagwood on duty too?"

"No, he went to get some breakfast for the two of you. Take it easy today, okay? Just cause you're finally out of the med-bay, doesn't mean you're all better. No spending the next eight hours on the computer, capisce?"

"Capisce?"

"I've been watching The Godfather. Now there's a good movie, you seen it?"

"No, I haven't."

"Great, we'll have to watch it some night. You get to explain it to Dagwood! Anyway, I gotta go... You sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, now GO! You'll be late!"

Tony left, and Lucas sat for a moment, reveling in the luxury of once again being alone in his own room.

He grabbed his clothes and moved over to the bed to dress. Once dressed, he lay back on the bed. It was ridiculous, but he was exhausted. All he'd done was wash and dress, and he felt as though he'd run a marathon. He closed his eyes.

* * *

He awoke with a start, which he regretted instantly. Sudden movement did not feel good. He turned to see Dagwood sitting watching him.

"Lucas?"

"Hey Dagwood... I guess I fell asleep. How long did I sleep for?"

"Just a few hours."

"A few HOURS?" He couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep for so long.

"That's okay. I didn't know what to do, so I cleaned all the boots, like Tony said."

Lucas looked around the room. It looked like every item of footwear had been polished until it shone.

"Umm... thanks Dagwood, that's great!"

"I got you some breakfast, but I ate some of it." He looked down at the table. "I guess I ate most of it. There's a couple of things left, though. Are you hungry?"

As if in response, Lucas' stomach rumbled loudly.

"I guess you are. Here."

Dagwood handed him a spoon, a pot of yogurt and an apple, as Lucas pulled himself up to eat.

"Thanks."

He was so hungry, he finished the yogurt in seconds and quickly started devouring the apple.

"Wow, you are hungry. You wanna go get some lunch?"

"Is it that time already?"

Dagwood nodded.

"Yeah... let's go!"

Dagwood positioned his chair for him, but stood by patiently while Lucas moved into it.

Lucas didn't know what would be better, getting some food - suddenly he was ravenous - or being able to move around the ship again.

When they reached the mess hall, the buzz of noise in the room stopped for a moment, and then to Lucas' embarrassed horror, they all started to cheer. It seemed as though every crewmember in the room came up to him to hug him or shake his hand.

He blushed beet red.

He noticed Lonnie at a table waving him over. She, too, gave him a huge hug. Tim waved from the far side of the table, and Commander Ford gave him an awkward shoulder pat.

Lucas couldn't help it, he had to say something.

"Er, what was that, Commander?"

Now Ford looked embarrassed.

"It was a welcoming pat on the shoulder."

"Huh! Seemed a little awkward to me, that's all."

Jonathon smiled, it was good to see Lucas teasing him.

"Shoulder pats aren't my thing as a general rule. I thought I'd make an exception in this instance."

"Hmmm. Maybe next time go with a welcoming stoicism?"

"That does sound better suited to my skill set."

"Look how well Tim pulled it off."

"Hey, I worked hard on that wave. Welcoming and friendly, without being overly sentimental. It was masterly."

They all laughed. It felt good to be amongst them all again.

"You haven't got any food yet, let me grab you something."

He looked around. "I imagine that's where Dagwood's gone."

Sure enough, five minutes later Dagwood appeared with a huge quantity of food. He put the larger of the two plates in front of him, but the plate he put in front of Lucas was extremely full.

"Dagwood, this is too much food, I can't eat all this."

"Doctor Perry says you need to eat more."

"But not in one sitting!"

He realized that it sounded like he was complaining. "Sorry, Dagwood, and thanks, but this is a lot of food. Maybe next time you could get about a quarter of this?"

"Okay Lucas. But I can always help finish anything you can't eat!"

Lucas laughed. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

He started to eat. He still hadn't regained much of his appetite, and though he had been hungry, he was full after only a few bites, and already sleepy again.

Around the table, his friends noticed as he slowed down and started to yawn. He'd started to drift from the conversation when he suddenly heard his name.

"Huh?" Well that was a brilliant contribution, he thought.

Lonnie walked over to his chair. "I said, I'll walk with you back to your room."

There was no point pretending that he wasn't tired, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Dagwood took the handles of his chair and started to take him out of the room. Lucas made no objection. All at once, he was fighting to stay awake.

When they reached their room, Dagwood helped to lift him back onto the bed, and he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

He slept for a couple of hours, and woke to see Dagwood watching him again.

"Hi Dagwood."

"Hey Lucas!"

"Um, why are you watching me sleep?"

"Don't know what else I'm supposed to do. They told me that I should be with you so I can help you, but mostly you sleep, so there's nothing for me to do."

"Oh. I'm sorry Dagwood, I didn't know."

He felt stupid that he hadn't known. In his defense, he'd only left the med-bay yesterday evening, and even though Dagwood had been with him since then, he'd thought it was a coincidence. So much for being a genius, he couldn't even figure that much out.

He supposed it made sense that they would put someone with him at first, but he felt embarrassed. It was like having a nanny again.

He also felt guilty. He seemed to be sleeping ninety per cent of the time anyway, why did poor Dagwood have to sit there and suffer through it?

"I'm sorry, Dagwood. What would you be doing right now if you weren't here with me?"

"Probably cleaning. I like cleaning."

"But what do you like to do for fun, Dagwood? When you're not cleaning?"

Dagwood thought about this. It took a few moments until he had an answer.

"I like to talk to my friends, and I like to visit Darwin."

Lucas felt a pang. He hadn't spoken to Darwin for a very long time.

"Why don't we go and visit him?"

"Okay."

Lucas wondered why he hadn't thought of this earlier, he'd really missed Darwin. As they entered the moonpool, he realized that the last time he swam there may actually have been the last time he would ever swim there. The thought made him sad.

His sad mood didn't last very long.

Darwin was ridiculously excited to see him.

"Lucas play!" he demanded.

"Darwin, I can't swim with you, I'm sorry."

"Lucas play ball!"

"Darwin, I can't..."

"Dagwood and Darwin play ball! Lucas play!"

Puzzled, Lucas looked at Dagwood for an explanation.

He held out a small football.

"We play like this!"

He threw the football into the water, but before it landed Darwin threw it up in the air with his nose towards Dagwood, who swiftly caught it.

Lucas smiled.

"Okay, let's try it!"

Darwin was surprisingly adept at hitting the ball towards them, although frequently Dagwood had to go running after it, and sometimes Lucas and Dagwood would tease Darwin by throwing it between themselves. For a little while, Lucas forgot about everything in the enjoyment of the game. However, a moment came when the ball hit Darwin at such an angle that the answering shot went wide, and Lucas, unthinking, leaned out to catch it.

As he reached out with his arm, he inadvertently raised himself in his chair and nearly overbalanced. Dagwood saw in it in time, and quickly steadied him, but for a moment Lucas was lost in a world of pain.

When he recovered, Dagwood and Darwin were both watching him.

"It's okay, I'm alright. I just...moved the wrong way, it's fine."

"Lucas better?"

"Yes, I'm better."

"Darwin sorry, Darwin play better next time."

"It's not your fault, Darwin. It's just... how things are now. Dagwood, can you help me sit by Darwin?"

Dagwood lifted him down to the floor, and Darwin swam over to him. They sat there for a little while in silence, as Lucas and Dagwood stroked the dolphin's nose.

The silence was broken when Lonnie and Commander Ford walked into the room

"Lucas! What are you doing?"

He looked up, startled. "I was just spending some time with Darwin."

"And you don't think that Doctor Perry would have something to say if she found you sitting on the cold floor in wet clothes?"

Lucas looked down in surprise. He hadn't noticed how wet he had become while they were playing.

"And Dagwood, I'm surprised at you, you're meant to be looking after him!"

Lucas felt his temper rise.

"It's not Dagwood's fault. We were playing, I didn't notice. I was just having some fun for a change! And Dagwood shouldn't have to look after me anyway, why am I his responsibility? Who did he piss off to get this job?"

Lonnie sat down beside him.

"He volunteered, like the rest of us. Only he was allowed to because he's stronger, and he's your roommate. And we're glad you had some fun! But you have to admit, this might not be the best way to spend your day on the first day out of the med-bay."

His temper died down, and he nodded. Dagwood lifted him back into his chair.

Ford spoke to Dagwood, who was looking hangdog.

"Don't worry, Dagwood, he's right, it's not your fault. But you might want to take him back to your room and help him change out of those wet things."

* * *

They walked back to their room, and Lucas changed his clothes without making a fuss. Tony came in a few minutes later, having met Ford and Henderson and being told the whole story.

"What's up, roomies? Why so glum?"

Dagwood started to speak, and Lucas interrupted.

"Nothing's happened. We're fine, aren't we Dagwood?"

Tony pulled a face.

"Wow, here I consider you to be my friends and you can lie like that to my face... I met Ford and Lonnie on the way here. They told me what happened."

Lucas looked up, once again angry.

"Can't say I'm surprised though. I always knew I was the brains of this outfit."

He completely ignored Lucas' temper, and said sweetly, "I'd appreciate you not killing yourself though. If anything happens to you, I don't think the captain will let us keep this room, and I'm becoming very attached to that shower!"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll be more careful in future! Sorry, Dagwood, it was all my fault."

"You're both at fault, how's that? Now let's go and get some dinner, I'm starving!"


	2. Chapter 2

The next day he realized that the others had been right. He had a sharp pain in his back, and his body ached everywhere. He was awake before the others, and looking at the clock, he decided that he had time to take a shower before Tony needed to get ready for his shift. He thought the hot water might make him feel better.

He quietly headed into the bathroom, and immersed himself in the hot water. It did help. He dried himself in the shower and reached out to put on his robe.

He realized suddenly that he was exhausted. All he had done was get up and shower, and he felt as though he'd run a marathon.

He sat for a few minutes, waiting vainly for more energy.

He tried to reach for his chair, but his hands were shaking too much. He knew that he would fall if he tried to lift himself now.

There was a knock at the door.

"Hey, you doin' okay?"

"Um... Tony..." was all he managed to say before the door flew open and Tony and Dagwood rushed in, both staring at him, concerned.

"That was a little dramatic."

"We was worried about you. What's up?"

"I think I overdid it yesterday. I can't get back in the chair. I'm sorry."

Tony looked unconcerned.

"Hey, it's no problem, that's what we're here for, ain't it, Dagwood? C'mon, let's get you out of here before you freeze your ass off!"

Dagwood lifted him gently back in the chair and looked at him quizzically.

"Why are you shaking?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry."

"Hey, stop saying your sorry! Nothin' to be sorry about. He's shaking because he's so skinny and he can't do too much right now. He'll be better once he bulks up a little. In the meantime, he has us to help him, doesn't he, Dagwood?"

"Yes. Would you like to get back into bed?"

"I only just got out of it," Lucas grumbled.

"That's a yes, Dagwood."

Lucas scowled as Dagwood lifted him back onto his bed. Tony looked at him thoughtfully.

"Hey Big Guy, could you go and get us some breakfast? Thanks!"

As Dagwood left, Tony moved over and sat on Lucas' bed and pulled the sheets back over him.

"Listen, I know this is hard for you, but you gotta trust us and let us help you, okay?"

Lucas looked at him. "Of course I trust you! It's just..."

"It's just?"

"All I did was get out of bed and take a shower. And I'm exhausted. Look at me!"

He held up a shaking hand. Tony pushed it back to the bed.

"Yeah, you're exhausted. You remember Doctor Perry gave us this long speech before you moved back here, about how hard everything will seem and how tired you gonna be? You remember that, genius boy, huh?"

"Of course, it's just..."

"It's just you didn't think it would apply to you. Congratulations, you've finally found something you have to work at! Yesterday, you overdid things, and today you take a shower and you're wiped. So, you take things a bit easier, and tomorrow, you take a shower and eat breakfast, and then you're wiped. And maybe next week, you shower and have breakfast and you'll be fine. And in a month, you'll be zooming around like a mad thing. Give yourself some time, you'll get there. In the meantime, take it easy on yourself and on us. You're our friend, we want to help."

"Makes us feel good to be able to look after you a little." He was serious for a moment. "We were really scared a few times, we couldn't help you, and we almost lost you. Let us take of you for a while, okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry, Tony."

"And stop saying you're sorry. Except to Dagwood! He's trying really hard, and you were kinda mean to him."

Lucas looked guilty.

"You're right, I'm sor... I'll behave better. Thanks Tony."

"No problem. Now that we've had our little talk, will you be okay here on your own for a while? I gotta get to my shift."

"No problem. Thanks again."

Tony was right, he thought. He'd only been out of the med-bay two days and he was already complaining and being difficult. He would get better, it would just take time. He was just so used to being quick at everything, he'd never before had to take the time to learn things slowly.

Tony was right, too, about the rest of it. By the end of the week, he did have a little more energy and was starting to feel better. But by then, a new problem had arisen.

* * *

When seaQuest next pulled into the harbor at New Cape Quest, it was as ready for repairs as the crew was for their next shore leave. Everyone was to get ten days of R&R for Christmas, and after the grueling events of the past couple of months, they all needed the break.

There was, however, one small problem.

When they had been discussing Lucas' care, it had been arranged that Tim would be happy to look after Lucas during shore leaves. Now they encountered their first setback.

All the stress and sleeplessness of the past few weeks had led to many of the crew members becoming a little run down, and Tim was no exception. As a result, Tim had developed a small cold - nothing serious, normally, but with the poor state of Lucas' health, Doctor Perry was emphatic that he would not be socializing with any sick crewmembers. She had been doing everything she could to keep him away from infections, and that included not allowing him to spend two weeks with his sick friend.

Which left them with the problem of where he could go.

There were no shortage of volunteers, but they all knew that Lucas would be suspicious of an invitation from Commander Ford or Lonnie, and he was unlikely to want to spend his shore leave with any of the sincere but casual acquaintances that made up the rest of the crew.

Tony, Dagwood and Lucas had spent many shore leaves together before, but it had been a long time since they'd been back to their base, and everyone knew how much Tony had missed his family and was looking forward to visiting them. He'd been talking about it long before the accident, and it didn't seem fair to ask him to cancel it, especially when he'd been spending so much time helping Lucas everyday.

Lucas was doing much better, but no-one felt comfortable with the idea of him staying in a hotel room somewhere, with only Dagwood to help him if anything happened. It was only a week since he had been released from the med-bay, and he was still in the early stages of recovery.

So they were all relieved when Tony slammed his lunch tray down next to Lucas and said, "Hey, Lucas, Dagwood, how d'ya like to spend shore leave with my folks? My Aunt Angie has invited us all to go stay at her house! My parents are gonna be staying there, and she's got plenty of room for everyone."

"I thought it was Cousin Angie?"

"Naw, Cousin Angie is Aunt Rose's girl. She's married with kids now, she moved away. This is Aunt Angie, she's real nice, you'll like her. Has two boys, Ricky and Eddie, twins, they're seventeen, and Gina, she's only fifteen. So what d'ya think?"

Dagwood looked up, pleased. "I'd like that!"

Lucas looked a little more uncertain. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why, what else were you planning?"

"I thought I could find a motel for me and Dagwood, if he'd like to join me."

"Why d'ya wanna go to a motel? You don't think Aunt Angie has a nice enough place?"

"It's not that, Tony. It's just all of this... you know." He gestured to the chair.

Tony grinned. "That's the best part! You can have Great Aunt Irene's room, she was in a chair so it's all set up for you!"

"But what about Irene?"

"Oh, she died two years ago. Isn't that great?!"

Lucas grinned. "Not for Great Aunt Irene."

Tony grinned back. "So, you coming?"

Lucas became serious again. "Are you sure? It's a lot of hassle for your family, I'm not anyone's idea of a perfect house guest. And you've got to be sick of me by now." His tone became grim. "I know I am."

Since Lucas had been allowed to stay, he had tried not to complain or show anything less than gratitude. Lately though, Tony and the others were starting to notice that he was increasingly frustrated and depressed, and his moods seemed to swing back and forth like a pendulum.

Doctor Perry said that Lucas would be better once he started to talk about his feelings, but they all knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't willingly do that.

Tony didn't want him to follow this train of thought.

"No, I've been telling them all about you, they're dyin' to meet you... both," he added, so Dagwood wouldn't feel excluded. "We'll have great time, c'mon, you'll have fun."

Seeing Lucas was still hesitant, he decided to bring out the big guns.

"Dagwood would like to go, but I don't think he'll come if you don't."

Lucas knew that this was the truth. Dagwood looked excited at the thought of staying with a family, but he wouldn't leave Lucas on his own. He admitted defeat.

"If you're sure they want me there..."


	3. Chapter 3

Doctor Perry seemed to have about a million things to discuss with the three of them before they left. For Tony and Lucas, she seemed to have a list of do's and don't as long as their arms. She gave Tony a bag of medications with strict instructions as to their usage. Lucas knew well enough why she didn't give them to him.

Dagwood was told about things he may need to watch out for, so he could help Lucas if he needed it. He took his responsibilities very seriously, and in turn seemed to have a million questions for Perry, which she was very happy to answer.

After the last talk she had with them, she asked Lucas to stay back for a moment.

'Lucas, I heard some news about a new drug that been developed that could really help you. It sounds like it would be significantly better for the pain relief, with fewer side effects. It seems to leave the patient with little to no nausea, and I know you'd appreciate that.'

'I would.' He pulled a face. Everyone kept telling him that he needed to put on weight, but it was hard to do when he constantly felt sick to his stomach.

'So, why are you asking me? What's the catch?'

'The catch is that they're not in this for their love of mankind, and it's not a cheap drug. But that's not a problem, is it?'

Lucas paused. There were things about his life that he had never shared with anyone, and his financial situation was one of them.

'How much is it?'

'It would be $30,000 for a years supply, which would probably be what you would need. That's $2500 a month.'

He looked startled. 'That much?'

'As I said, they're not in it to help humanity. They know they've got a good drug, and they feel they can charge accordingly. I don't have to tell you that people in pain will pay anything to feel better.'

He thought about it for a minute. If it did everything they said it would...she was right, he would gladly give that amount to feel normal for a few hours each day.

'Do you really think it would be worth it? Does it really work?'

'It seems to. They've done a few trials, and everyone so far has been very impressed with the results.'

'I'd be happy just to get rid of the nausea! Do I have to give you the money now?'

'No, we can sort out all the details after the shore leave. I've printed out some information, and you can research it yourself over the break. It's a lot of money, you need to be sure.'

'Okay, thanks.' He took the sheets from her and quickly looked them over. 'It sounds too good to be true.'

'That's probably why they feel they can charge so much!'

He smiled. 'If it's as good as it sounds, then it's worth it. I'll look it up over the break, but right now I'd give every penny I had for it.'

'Just let me know when you get back. And Lucas?'

'Yeah?'

'Take care of yourself, okay? We've worked really hard to help you, but you've got to help yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's still only been two months. You're going to get better, but it's going to take awhile. Take it easy, and give yourself some time. It's a break! Relax and enjoy it.'

He bit his lip.

He didn't tell her how frustrated he constantly felt, or how humiliating he found it to ask for help from everybody for every little thing. He didn't tell her how bad the nausea really was, or how much pain he was still in every day. Because she knew, that was why she was having this conversation with him. She was telling him, in her very tactful way, that she knew how bad things still were for him. It was why she gave the pills to Tony, and not to him.

He decided to be honest with her.

'It's better now. I get to stay on SeaQuest, I know how much everyone is trying to help me, I wouldn't throw that back in their faces. And I would never do anything while I was with Tony and Dagwood, I wouldn't do that to them.' He gave a sudden smile. 'Besides, you'd probably kill them if anything happened to me!'

She smiled back. 'I would, trust me!'

* * *

A few days later their taxicab pulled up outside a large house in one of the less salubrious areas in New Cape Quest.

Tony's aunt rushed outside to greet them as they pulled up outside.

'Tony!' She kissed him effusively on both cheeks and then turned to meet his friends.

Dagwood pulled out Lucas' chair and positioned it ready for him.

'You must be Dagwood!' She leaned forward and kissed him too, and he beamed. Then she turned to look at Lucas.

He was leaning out and positioning himself to get into his chair. Tony had prepared her for the fact that he had been seriously ill, but she didn't think she'd ever seen someone look so thin and pale.

She looked at Tony, wondering why he and Dagwood weren't helping. Tony gave a minute shake of his head. She understood, and turned her attention back to the others.

'Well, if you'd like to take your bags inside! Tony, you're upstairs with your cousins. Dagwood, you and Lucas will be sharing Irene's old room. Tony will show you the way.'

As Dagwood got the bags from the back of the taxi, Lucas wheeled himself over to greet her.

'Hello, I'm Lucas. Thank you for inviting us.'

'We're glad you could come! Come on, let's get in out of the cold.'

He smiled, and she realized that her daughter was going to fall completely in love with her cousin's friend the minute she saw that smile.

Tony led the way in, and the rest of them followed.

'Luke, Dagwood, this is your room.'

'Don't call me Luke,' he said, automatically.

He looked around. The front door led in to a large, comfortable family room with lots of chairs and a big sofa. That room led on to a dining room with a large table, and he presumed the kitchen was next to that.

His room must once have been part of the family room, sectioned off years ago, probably, he thought, to serve this very purpose. To have suitable accommodation for someone who was in a wheelchair. The thought depressed him a little. He suddenly realized that everywhere he went from now on would have to have special facilities for him. He saw a small bathroom attached to the room that was also wheelchair accessible.

He had a sudden moment of panic, of intense claustrophobia. He wanted to jump up and run out, far, far away from this scary room, with it's handles and rails and low, convenient fixtures.

But of course, he couldn't. He would probably never be able to do that again.

He realized that he was breathing too loud, and he was shaking. He saw that he and Tony were suddenly alone in the room. Tony knelt down beside him, and held his face so he was looking into his eyes.

'Lucas? Lucas, look at me. Good, that's better. What's up? What's wrong? Are you sick?'

Lucas tried to calm himself. His breath hitched in his chest, and he made a small, involuntary sound. He hoped it didn't sound too much like a sob.

He tried again, and worked on controlling his breathing.

'I'm sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, that was rude, your aunt...'

'Never mind Aunt Angie, she's fine. What happened?'

'Just...all this...it suddenly hit me. It's real, it's all real, this is it from now on, whenever I want to go somewhere they'll have to have all of this, it just hit me. It all started closing in on me, I can't just run away from it...I can't run anywhere...'

It was starting again, he was talking too fast and couldn't stop.

Tony left his side and got him a glass of water.

'Here, drink this. Slowly.'

Lucas held the glass with shaking hands and started to drink. The mundanity of the action made him feel better, and he felt his breath calming. His hands felt steadier.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...'

'Stop talking, alright? I think you had a panic attack, it's not surprising.'

'It isn't?'

'No, Doctor Perry lent me this book and it's all about this stuff.'

'You're reading a book Doctor Perry lent you? What's it called?'

'The Psychological Effects of Trauma. It's not that bad, some bits are pretty interesting.'

'Why are you reading it?'

Tony sat down on the bed and looked at his friend.

'Perry's worried that you haven't really reacted to all of this yet. She was concerned that it hasn't hit you yet. I asked her what might happen when it does, and she lent me the book.'

'You're reading it for me?'

'Well, I sure as hell ain't reading it for fun!'

Despite everything, Lucas laughed.

'So was that it then? I'm going to be okay now?'

'No, sorry chum, I think that was just a pre...pre...c'mon, what's that word? Means something before, I looked it up...'

'Precursor?'

'Yeah, that's it! I think you just had a small panic attack. According to the book, it'll be pretty huge when it finally hits you properly.'

'So I still have that to look forward to?'

'Yeah. 'Fraid so.'

'Great.' Lucas rolled his eyes.

'So what do I do now? Your aunt probably think I'm nuts and is calling a cab as we speak.'

'You don't know Aunt Angie. With the crazy she's seen in this family, I doubt this will even register.'

'I don't want her to think I'm ungrateful, that was really rude.'

'She didn't think you were ungrateful, and she won't think you're rude. She WILL think you're a pain in the ass if you go around trying to be grateful and apologizing every two minutes. And she might think it strange if we don't come out of this room again today.'

'Sure. Okay,' he took one more calming breath, 'let's go.'

Tony went out first and Lucas followed. Angie was talking to Dagwood as they came out. Despite Tony's advice, Lucas started to speak.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean...'

Tony spoke over him.

'Hey, where is everybody?'

She smiled at Lucas but answered Tony.

'The boys are at a friends house - I don't imagine we'll see them before dinner - and Gina should be home from school any minute. It was just a half day today, because of the holiday. And your parents went to visit George and Martha in the nursing home. It was the only day they could do it, but they were really looking forward to seeing you, so they should be back soon. So I was just about to make lunch, who's hungry?'

Dagwood answered seriously. 'Me. I am very hungry.'

'Well, good, I have plenty of food, let's go and make some lunch for everybody. Lucas, you're vegetarian, is that right?'

'Yes ma'am. But don't worry if...'

She cut him off. 'It's no bother at all. Just so long as you don't mind seeing the rest of them obliterate a roast now and again!'

He smiled, 'No, ma'am.'

'Angie, dear, call me Angie.'

At that moment, the door crashed open and a teenage girl flew in.

'Are they here yet?'

'Gina!'

Tony picked her up and whirled her around. She looked embarrassed, and straightened her hair and clothes.

'Tony, I'm fifteen, stop it.'

'Ooooh, sorry!' He teased. 'These are my friends, Dagwood,' Dagwood solemnly shook hands with her, 'and Lucas. He likes to be called Luke,' he teased.

Lucas smiled at her. 'You can call me Luke if you want to,' he said, grinning at Tony.

Happy to be included in the joke, she smiled back at Lucas.

'I think I prefer Lucas.'

They grinned at each other, instantly friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner seemed to be a huge affair. Angie had started preparing for it right after lunch, and assigning them all tasks. She had been hesitant at first to ask Lucas to help, until a nudge from Tony and a meaningful glance had persuaded her to suggest that he set the table. This had actually kept him busy for a ridiculous amount of time, as it quickly became clear that he had never set a table before in his life.

"Didn't your parents ever ask you to set the table?" she asked, wonderingly.

"No. They were never really home that much, so we rarely ate together, and when we did the staff took care of everything."

Tony looked curious. "How many staff did you have?"

Lucas looked embarrassed.

"Well, my mother wasn't very domestic, so we had a cook/housekeeper, a maid and a gardener. Oh, and of course, when I was younger we had a nanny."

Now Angie was also curious. "And they looked after you and your parents?"

"Well, no, they mainly just took care of the house. My mother traveled a lot, and of course my Dad was working on the World Power Project, so he wasn't there much. It was usually just me in the house, and I generally ate in my room, so it was pretty easy work. If you can call working for my mother easy!"

He laughed wryly at a joke that no-one else really understood, never having met her. He saw them looking at him oddly, and felt self-conscious. He didn't know why he had shared that, he usually never mentioned his family. It was something about being amongst a real family that made him see how much he'd missed.

"So that's why I don't know how to set a table," he finished lamely.

Tony grabbed some cutlery. "C'mon, Genius, let me show you how! I'm only going to do one, though, then you're on your own!"

There seemed to be a huge amount of people. Angie and Gina, Angie's sons, Richie and Eddie, Tony's parents, Nick and Marie, and the three of them. To Lucas, the noise seemed incredible. By the middle of the meal his head was starting to throb with all the shouting. Even Dagwood seemed out of his depth. The two of them sat quietly at the end of the table, finding themselves completely overwhelmed. Attempts were made to include them in the conversation, but there were so many interruptions that even then they were drowned out in the crowd.

"Hey Dagwood, how much can you press?"

"You crazy? He's a Dagger, I bet he can lift a car, maybe even a truck..."

"Dagwood, can you lift a truck?"

"Well hold on, what kind of a truck anyway?"

And the whole conversation continued without him contributing a word.

"Lucas, you really don't eat meat? Man, I would hate to not eat meat..."

"You'd hate to not eat anything, you pig!"

"Yeah, but I'd miss meat. Imagine never again being able to eat a roast..."

"Hey, did I tell you about that steak I had at Angelo's last week? You wouldn't believe it..."

Lucas sipped at his water and waited for the meal to end. Dagwood beside him was eating enthusiastically, but even before his accident his appetite had been small. Now, he was rarely hungry and eating seemed to be more of a chore than anything else. Honestly, the medications he was taking caused him to be nauseated most of the time, and everything tasted different to him. Most things just seemed to taste like nothing at all.

He had taken a small amount of everything to be polite, and even tasted most of it. It tasted... well, fine, as far as he could tell. He looked up and saw Angie watching him. He smiled insincerely and took a small bite. She smiled back at him, as if she understood. Her next words showed that she probably did.

"Looks like we've all finished," she said, completely ignoring Dagwood's heaped plate and Nick reaching for what would be his fifth helping. "Why don't you all go and sit down? Tony and I will clear the table."

Tony stood up with a groan, "After all that food, are you kidding me?"

"We can help," Lucas volunteered, gesturing to himself and Dagwood.

"No, thank you Lucas. Dagwood's still clearing his plate, and I know that Gina wanted to show you the garden."

Everyone looked surprised at this, except Gina, who looked pleased.

"What garden? It's a dead lawn with some weeds growin' in it!" protested Nick.

"Nonsense, it's very pretty out there. Take jackets, though, it's cold, and don't stay out too long, okay?" She looked meaningfully at her daughter.

"Yes Mom! Come on Lucas, let's get your jacket. Do you have a scarf? Never mind, you can borrow one of mine!"

And with that, she led him off.

* * *

As the others went to the other room, Tony approached his aunt.

"What was that about?"

"You didn't notice? He looked as green as spinach, and he kept rubbing his temples. I thought he needed some fresh air, and quickly."

"Oh. Thanks. I didn't notice, I guess. You think he's okay now?"

"I imagine the fresh air will help. Does he get that a lot?"

"Yeah. He take these pills, painkillers. The doc said they help with the pain, but they don't make him feel great. She's been trying to get him to eat more, but he says he feels sick all the time, and the food just tastes weird. That's why he's still so skinny. She even tried him on those nutrition shakes, but he just threw those straight up, and now he won't touch 'em."

Her heart twisted as she thought of him.

"Ask him if there's anything that he'd like. And we can clear away the food quicker from now on, so he doesn't have to sit there for too long. And let's try and be quieter!"

Tony grinned. "The first two may be doable, but the last? Never gonna happen!"

In the garden, a similar conversation was taking place.

"Are you okay? You look like your heads hurts, and you look a little green."

"Sorry." He apologized, feeling guilty. "It's not the food - or the company!" He explained, smiling at her. "I take pain meds, they make me feel bad most of the time. And I do have a bit of a headache, I'm sorry, I don't know why."

"It's because we're so loud all the time. We're always like this. What's it like at your house? Is it really just you most of the time?"

He nodded.

"It's the complete opposite. Sometimes it's so quiet everyone forgets I'm there and they go home and forget to leave any food for me." He smiled again. "Once, when I was five, I broke my arm trying to climb up to the cupboard to get some cookies, they'd forgotten to leave me anything for dinner. My mother was furious."

She smiled with him, but she didn't know why. It was a sad story. He suddenly seemed to realize.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I keep talking about my family today. I haven't thought of that in years, and now I'm telling you. I'm sorry."

"You apologize a lot."

"Tony keeps saying that."

"You should listen to him." She grinned. "But only about that. The rest of the time he says some really dumb stuff."

"I heard that!"

Tony came out to join them.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear myself insulted!" He threw a look of mock disapproval at Gina, and handed Lucas a glass of water.

"Brought you this." He looked around at the stars. "Aunt Angie was right, it's a really pretty night. You forget how much you miss this, don't you?"

Lucas sipped gratefully at the water. "Fresh air and stars. I know what you mean, it feels like it's been forever."

"Still, you should be getting back inside...feeling better?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Want to turn in for the night?"

Seeing him about to object, he continued, "No-one's going to mind, it's fine. You're bound to be a bit tired the first night here." He grinned a Gina, "We can be a lot to take in, best to take us in smaller doses at first."

"Thanks. Yes, I'd like that, I am tired. Sor..."

"Don't say it!" they chorused.

They headed back inside, and Tony signed to Dagwood to stay where he was, still happily eating. Everyone was laughing and talking, so only Angie noticed the two of them heading into Lucas' room.

Even though the room was just next door, it was surprisingly quiet. Tony picked up Lucas' bag and started to pull everything out of it.

"Tony, you're making a mess."

"Never mind, you can clean it up in the morning. Here's your toothbrush, go do what you need to. I'm going to unpack Dagwood's stuff so he doesn't wake you up later."

Lucas nodded, and returned a few minutes later.

"Okay, no arguments tonight, I'm gonna help you, okay? It's been a long day and I want to help."

Lucas bit his lip, then nodded. Truthfully, he was tired and his head hurt. Just for tonight, he would accept the help.

Tony pulled back his sheets and helped Lucas move himself over to the bed. He gave the small gasp that they both knew so well by now, and Lucas remembered.

"I need my meds."

"Sure, where are they?"

"You put them in Dagwood's bag."

Tony looked inside. "Yeah, I ran out of room in mine! Okay, let's see what we need..."

"The white ones, one of each, two of the round ones."

Tony opened up the bottles and poured out pills until he had five, and handed them to him.

"Let me get some water. You're sure you don't need the yellow ones?"

"No. They're the strong pain pills, I only need those when things get really bad."

Tony nodded. "And you don't need them tonight?"

"No, I'm just tired and have a headache, I just want to sleep."

"Okay. Hey, try and think of something you'd like to eat while you're here, okay? Aunt Angie is dying to feed you up!"

Lucas smiled as he started to drift into sleep. "Okay. You have a great family, Tony."

"Yeah, I know. Lucas..."

"Hmm?"

"Why was your mother angry when you broke your arm?"

He was pretty sure that Lucas would never have answered him if he had been conscious of what he was saying, but in the midst of drugged sleep he answered, "It was Christmas Eve and she had to leave the party to collect me from the Emergency room, she hadn't planned on coming back until the 27th...", and with that, he fell asleep, leaving Tony looking at him thoughtfully.


	5. Chapter 5

He woke early the next morning, as early morning light beamed through the window. He lay there for a minute enjoying it. He loved being on SeaQuest, but he missed the natural light. He looked over at Dagwood, who lay straight and neat, even in deep sleep.

He felt good this morning, his headache from the night before completely gone. He even felt more positive. He was somewhere new and different, he liked Tony's family, and they seemed to like him, and even though he needed special accommodations, wasn't it wonderful that they had them? He could have been stuck on his own on SeaQuest, or sitting alone in a hotel room. This was definitely better.

He quietly pulled himself up and into his chair. Dagwood started to wake up, but he told him to carry on sleeping, he was fine.

And he was. He showered and dressed, and felt better than he had for a long time.

He felt awkward wandering around someone else's house, but he was restless and wanted to move about. He listened carefully and thought he heard someone in the kitchen.

He made his way there and found Angie.

"Well, good morning! You're up early."

"I usually am these days. I seem to make up for it by sleeping all day!"

"I had surgery once, just a minor thing, but my sleep patterns were off for ages afterwards. They got back to normal eventually."

"It's been two months, I wish it would just hurry up."

"Sorry, Sweetheart, it's going to take longer than that. But don't worry so much! Time passes quickly enough, you'll soon be feeling better, mark my words!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to complain."

"You're allowed, you've been through a lot. But maybe you're just feeling down because you're hungry, you didn't eat much last night. What would you like for breakfast?"

"May I have some toast?"

"I have a better idea!" She reached into the oven and pulled out a pan. A strong scent hit his nostrils, and he found that he did feel hungry. "Cinnamon rolls! Would you like one?"

He nodded and she smiled. She put them on the kitchen table and they ate companionably together.

"These are delicious...may I have another?"

"Yes! Eat as many as you'd like, there are plenty more where they came from. And you really need fattening up."

"Everyone keeps telling me that."

"Maybe because it's true?" She teased.

He found himself telling her about his problems with food.

"The pain meds. They either make me nauseous, or I can't taste anything, or both. It's really hard to have an appetite when everything tastes like cardboard!"

"Is it all the time?"

"No, sometimes everything tastes normal...like now! These are really good!"

"Then eat as many as you can while you can taste them! I'm going to start breakfast for the rest of them, they should be moving about soon."

"Can I help?"

"You want to set the table, now that you've mastered the art?"

"No problem!"

They talked about inconsequential things as they worked. He found her very easy to talk to. The others came down to breakfast, and they all gathered around the table and talked.

Nick cleared his throat.

"Now don't all go crazy - even though it was a very generous thing for me to do, especially for this many people - but I have tickets for today's football game. Thought it would be a fun thing to do! And by the way, this is my Christmas present to everyone, so don't expect anything else!"

Tony looked up. "You win a bet, or did someone owe you money?"

"You see the thanks I get when I try to do something nice for you and your friends!"

"You really got enough for everyone?"

"Oh, you're doubting me? You wanna see them?"

"Don't mind if I do!"

Nick pulled an envelope out of his pocket and tossed it across the table to Tony.

"Hey, he's telling the truth! Must be Christmas!"

Lucas leaned over and looked at the tickets. "That sounds great, I've never been to a football game."

They all stared at him open mouthed. Tony couldn't believe his ears.

"You have got to be kidding!"

"Nope, never been to one! I've always wanted to go." He turned to Nick, "Thank you. I bet Dagwood will love it too!"

Dagwood looked up briefly from his food to smile at them. "Yes! Thank you!"

Tony was torn between his constant hostility towards his father and the knowledge that this was actually a really great thing that he had done. He knew that Lucas would like him to give his father another chance, so he gave in.

"Yeah, thanks Dad!"

* * *

The excitement in the stadium was palpable. Lucas had never felt anything like it. The aromas of hot dogs and onions wafted in the air, and there was a low murmur of sound all about him. He'd been a little worried about maneuvering his chair through the throngs of people, but found that people gave him enough room to move through the crowd. He liked to think this was because people were basically nice, and not because of Ricky, Eddie, Tony and Dagwood standing menacingly behind him.

Gina walked beside him and talked excitedly the whole time. Nick led them to their seats, and had even remembered to make sure there was room for Lucas' chair. Tony had been sure that he would forget.

It was one of the best days of Lucas' life. Once the game began, he forgot everything that had happened over the past year, and he yelled, cheered, booed and ate his hot dog (vegetarian, much to the disgust of the rest of the guys). Gina choose a vegetarian dog too, and Angie smiled at her attempt to like what Lucas liked, and also at her attempt to disguise her dislike of it. When Lucas was distracted, she leaned over and exchanged her own hot dog for Gina's, to the girl's everlasting gratitude.

The home team won, which put everyone in a good mood, and it started to snow, which added to the excitement of the day. Seeing Dagwood's reaction to the snow made everyone smile.

Tony pulled him along to the van, "Come on, Dagwood, maybe we can build a snowman when we get home." He turned to Lucas, "You've done that at least, right?"

Lucas laughed. "When? When I was at Stanford? The opportunity never came up!"

"Okay then, last one to the van is a rotten egg!"

All the younger members of the group started to run, and Lucas joined the race with the rest of them, pushing his chair to the limits. He reached the van just before Gina and Eddie, and honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so hard.

Tony saw him laughing, and realized that he'd never seen him laugh like that before, not even before the accident. He felt happy that Lucas was having a good time, and he couldn't help but smile at his father.

"Thanks, Dad, this was really great."

His father looked at him in surprise for a moment, and then pulled him into a hug. For once, Tony returned it.

* * *

When they got back, Angie, of course, went straight into the kitchen and made hot cocoa for everyone and brought out plates of cookies. Lucas noticed that for once, he wasn't the only one yawning. He excused himself and went to his room to lie down. Dagwood followed him in.

"Everyone's falling asleep on the chairs," he said wonderingly.

"It's the warmth of the house after the cold air, it makes everyone sleepy, we all just want to take a nap. Why don't you lie down for a moment and try it?

Lucas pulled off his shoes, decided he was too tired to remove anything else, and promptly fell asleep.

Dagwood obediently lay down as well, but to no avail. He was as excited as a child about the snowfall, and went back into the kitchen to watch it through the windows as he ate more cookies.

Everyone else woke up in time for dinner, but Lucas was sleeping soundly when Tony went in to get him. He debated letting him sleep, but realized that he needed to eat and take his meds. Even after he shook him awake, his friend seemed half asleep.

"C'mon, Lucas, wake up."

"'M tired, wanna sleep..."

Tony pulled down the bedsheets.

"Hey, that's cold!"

"Come on, it's time for dinner!"

Lucas was surprised to realize that once again he was hungry. He pushed himself up and wiped his hands across his face.

"Do I have time to wash my face? I feel half asleep..."

"Sure, but don't be too long, we're all hungry."

Lucas smiled at him. "Me too!"

"Really? Hey, that's great! We'll have to tell Tim, it's a Christmas miracle!"


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning was as good as the previous one. He had fallen into a dead sleep the night before, exhausted after a (for him) huge meal and a fun evening watching the others teach Dagwood how to make a snowman. It had been late when they all went to bed, only Dagwood dragging behind wanting to make a second one, so his snowman wouldn't be lonely.

He followed his routine of the previous morning, although this time Dagwood was waiting to use the bathroom when he came out, eager to go out and play in the snow again.

They ate hot rolls, fresh from the oven while they bustled about the kitchen and waited for the others. Darwood took four, and rushed outside with them, and when the boys came down they ran outside and started a snowball fight.

They were planning to spend the day Christmas shopping, which was good for the SeaQuest crewmembers, as they had nothing for anyone.

They headed out after breakfast in a festive mood, Gina almost bursting with excitement was chattering non-stop to Lucas, the boys asking Dagwood a million questions about Gelf's and SeaQuest, and Tony got to catch up with his parents. Once they reached the shops, Gina dragged them all from store to store until the boys broke off and took Dagwood to the arcade. They would have asked Lucas, but Gina was keeping all his attention for herself, asking his opinions on everything she bought, and helping him with his purchases.

Tony watched, amused, as Gina tried on four outfits and insisted that Lucas give her his opinion.

Nick walked up and stood beside his son.

"That doesn't bother you?"

Tony looked confused. "What?"

"Well, she's obviously got a thing for him, and he's leading her on. It doesn't bother you that he's treating her like an amusing pet? He can't have any interest in a girl like Gina."

Tony looked surprised, he honestly hadn't noticed. Now as he looked he could see Gina's over bright eyes and beaming smile. He was always very protective of his younger relatives.

"He wouldn't hurt her," he told his father, but there was no conviction in his voice. Lucas also seemed to be smiling and laughing more than usual, and his father was right, what could he find so fascinating in a girl like Gina?

* * *

He brooded about it until lunch. They ate at a local restaurant that offered an all you can eat buffet, which Dagwood enjoyed greatly. The owners watched in horrified amazement at the amount of food the dagger could eat.

Lucas found once again that he was hungry, all the activities of the past couple of days giving him an appetite. In some part of his mind, he noticed that his throat felt a little raw, but he thought it was probably from all the talking and laughing he'd been doing. He drew himself next to Tony as Gina rushed off and promised to get something for both of them.

Tony couldn't help but scowl at him as he saw his cousin rush off.

"I would have got you something."

"Gina said she wanted me to try her favorites." Lucas didn't know what was wrong.

"She's a good kid!"

"Yeah, she is..." Lucas still didn't know where this was going, or why Tony was acting so strangely. "She's funny..."

Tony felt his blood boil. Funny? How patronizing was that? Like she was just there for him to laugh at! He stood up and picked up his plate.

"She's a good kid, and she deserves to be treated with respect!" And with that, he picked up his plate and went to sit beside his parents, leaving Lucas completely confused.

* * *

After lunch, they all went to one of the big department stores. The women had gone to try on clothes, and Tony, still fuming, had gone to see how Dagwood was doing with the others at the arcade, which they had returned to immediately after lunch. That left Lucas alone with Nick, which surprised him. Of all of them, he felt he knew Nick the least.

He completed his shopping, finishing with a charm bracelet that he thought would be perfect for Gina. He smiled as Nick walked up to him.

"You all done?"

"Yes, that was the last thing I needed."

"Hope you got something nice for Tony." There seemed to be an edge to his voice.

Lucas looked at him curiously. Why was everyone behaving oddly today?

"I think so."

"'Cause he does a lot for you, you know."

"I know. I'm very grateful to him."

"Well, I think he's doin' it for something a little more tangible than your gratitude. Gratitude doesn't pay the bills, y'know? I mean, he didn't join SeaQuest so he could become your unpaid nanny, did he?"

Lucas looked up in shock.

"Isn't that what he's really doing right now? I mean, just from what I've seen he's doin' pretty much everything for you, who knows what else he's doin'. Dunno how much of you works or anything, for all I know he's takin' ya to the bathroom as well as everything else. Guess we wouldn't have to worry 'bout Gina if that's the case."

Lucas flushed a deep red, but didn't seem able to move from the spot or speak. He suddenly realized why Tony was so annoyed about Gina earlier.

"I mean, with your money, you could be doin' something really nice for us all. You know they're gonna have to sell the house? I owe some guys some money, and I own a share of that house. Only way I can raise the cash is for them to sell the house and give me my money. Only thing is, that house ain't gonna sell for much, so I don't know how they're gonna get a place afterwards. Tony would be pleased to see his family settled. It's the least you could do, with all he's done for you. He's told us that him and Dagwood are awake half the night with your moaning and your cryin' and your nightmares and everything else."

Lucas felt sick. He knew - more than anyone, he knew - what they had taken on when they had agreed to look after him, but he hadn't known they were losing sleep because of him. He felt humiliated and guilty. He tried not to ask for help, but he knew they were doing a lot for him anyway.

He swallowed and tried to speak. He thought his voice sounded odd, like it came from far away.

"How much do you need?"

Nick looked pleased that they were finally getting to the point.

"Fifty grand."

"$50,000?"

"Yeah, I had a couple of business deals that went south."

"And if you had that money, Angie and her family could stay in that house?"

"Sure, yeah!"

Lucas may still have been a teenager, but he knew enough not to take anything on trust.

"Would you sign something to that effect?"

"What?"

"If I gave you $50,000, would you sign a document saying that you waive all future rights to the house?"

Nick wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but he needed the money, and it looked like he was going to get it.

"Sure, Kid, I'll sign whatever you want."

Lucas nodded. "My lawyer will be in touch." And he turned to leave.

* * *

He had to get out of there. Once outside he took huge gulps of air and tried to fight down what felt like another panic attack. He couldn't stop shaking and thought he might be sick. He didn't even notice the cold air or the snow falling around him. All he could do was try to breathe normally. Tears started to prick his eyes. He hadn't asked for any of this. He hadn't wanted to be a burden to everybody else. The only thing he'd ever wanted was to stay on the SeaQuest with his friends, and it seemed to be getting harder all the time. He didn't want everyone to have to look after him all the time. He didn't know what to do, he just couldn't think of a way out of this situation.

Except one.

Except one...

In every despairing moment he had - and boy, were they becoming more plentiful - that same thought just kept coming into his head. Wouldn't that just be better for everyone in the long term?

He wasn't meant to be happy, he should just except that. Everyone he ever had feelings for had abandoned him sooner or later - usually sooner. He had no illusions that Tony and Dagwood would be any different. He didn't even know if they'd been given the choice. They'd probably been bullied into all this by the rest of the crew.

But he would help Angie and Gina first. He could do that.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note - made a small error, and realised that, according to canon, Lucas was 19 in the third season, not 18, but since I don't want to go back and change it in 'Crashing Down', let's just pretend that it's a slight AU! Many, many thanks to my reviewers! You made my day, I'm glad to know someone is enjoying it!_

* * *

What Nick and Lucas didn't know, was that Gina was changing in the fitting room beside them and could hear every word.

At first, like Lucas, she had been frozen in horror, and then by embarrassment, as Nick alluded to her crush on Lucas. But when he talked about selling the house, she sank to the floor in shock. She stood there, listening to her uncle talk about selling her home...

Then she realized that Lucas was talking. He would help them, he would do that for them, but his voice sounded so...odd. No emotion at all. She was angry now, she was furious, but he just sounded...resigned. That was it.

She realized they had moved away, and she quickly dressed and ran out of the dressing room. She looked around for Lucas, but couldn't see him. She saw her mother and ran to her.

"Mom, where's Lucas?"

"I don't know, Honey, I haven't seen him...what's wrong?"

"He was talking to Nick, and Nick said...he said..." Her words were tumbling out, too fast, and to her embarrassment she stated to cry. "He said awful things to him, and I don't know where he went! I was in the dressing room, and he said...he said..."

Angie knew her brother to well to know that whatever it was, it was probably worse than anything she could imagine. She saw a passing sales clerk.

"Excuse me! We're looking for our friend, a boy in a wheelchair, blond hair?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, I saw him. I think he went outside."

They looked out the door at the falling snow.

"Gina, honey, I know you want to help right now, but let me go and find him and see how he is first, okay? Will you wait here?"

Gina nodded and wiped her tears, while Angie walked to the door.

It was freezing outside, but sure enough there was Lucas. He had a thin veil of snow coating him, and she couldn't tell if he was shuddering from the cold or crying. Probably both, she thought.

"Lucas?"

She kneeled beside him and put her hand on his chin to look at him. He was cold to the touch and his skin had a pale blue pallor, but his eyes looked a million miles away. She didn't think he'd even noticed the snow. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it quickly and hope that he hadn't already caught his death of cold.

"Lucas, I know Nick said some things, and I don't know what, but it doesn't matter. You've got to come inside now, it's freezing."

He looked as though he was having trouble holding everything together. "Gina's worried about you, will you come inside? We can sort this out later."

He nodded, and started to move his chair, but instead she took it and started pushing him towards the doors.

Gina ran towards them as they came in, and still crying threw her arms around him. She drew back in horror.

"Mom, he's freezing!"

He spoke through chattering teeth, "I'm f..f..fine. Just needed some a..air."

"Mom?"

"Gina, go and buy the first towel you see and a blanket." She looked around for somewhere to go. "We'll be over there in that restroom."

Once again, she purposefully grabbed his chair and wheeled him into the restroom. She took off his jacket and started to shake off the snow, and gave him a fistful of handtowels.

"Here, use these, start drying yourself off."

In a moment of inspiration, she saw the hand dryer and positioned it towards him. Now he was definitely shaking from the cold. She rubbed his arms up and down, as her own mother would when she was a child. Gina ran in with a cheap towel and a sturdy looking blanket. She tucked the blanket around his shoulders while her mother proceeded to dry his hair with the towel.

After about ten minutes, his shivering began to subside. Tremors still ran throughout his body, but they were muted, and his skin was starting to lose its blueish tinge.

"You look better. There's a coffee shop in here, let's all get a cup."

They trooped out. Self conscious, Lucas tried to pull the blanket from his shoulders, but Gina insisted he leave it on and he didn't have the energy to fight. They ordered three cups of coffee, and sat in the warm café. He was looking better, but he seemed drained. Gina too, looked pale and red eyed.

"Mom, can we go home now?"

"Yes, I think that's an excellent idea. I'm going to take Lucas to the van, you round up the others, tell them we're leaving now. Anyone not in the van in ten minutes can make their own way home. Oh, and Gina...don't worry to much if you can't find your Uncle Nick. I'm sure he'll manage."

They shared a smile, and Gina ran off.

* * *

When Gina reached the arcade, She found them all drinking cokes talking about the games they played. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to fight any of them to stop playing.

"Hey Guys, we're going home. Mom says anyone not in the van in the next ten minutes has to walk home."

Ricky and Eddie looked annoyed.

"Gina, we was gonna play some more."

"Well, now you can't 'cause we're leaving. Come on!"

Tony noticed her pale face and red eyes. "Everything okay, Gina?" If Lucas had said or done anything to upset her, then so help him, Lucas would have another injury to nurse.

"I just wanna go home. Come on, guys!" She started pulling them out of their chairs.

"Alright, alright, we're coming!"

She hurried before them, and Tony rushed to catch up with her.

"Gina, what happened?"

She flashed an angry look at him. "Your father, that's what happened. Now come on!"

Now he was completely confused...what would his father have done that would cause Gina to be so upset that she was rushing out of the mall? And where were Angie and Lucas and his parents? He hurried along beside her, wondering what was going on.

His confusion didn't clear when he arrived at the van, where a very angry Angie was waiting for them, tapping her foot.

She didn't smile when she saw them. Whatever had happened, he couldn't remember ever seeing her this angry before in his life.

"Okay, everybody, get in."

Tony climbed in to see Lucas already seated and staring at his feet. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and didn't look up while they took their seats. His parents were walking towards the van and gesturing.

"Hey, Aunt Angie, wait up a minute, here's Mom and Dad."

He saw Gina and Lucas go pale. Angie started the van, and said through gritted teeth, "Well, they'd better hurry up then, because we're leaving!"

Tony couldn't believe it. He leaned out of the van and shouted to them to hurry.

* * *

The ride back to the house was terrible. Every attempt at conversation was shot down until they reverted to total silence. Angie and Gina seemed to radiate temper, and Lucas never spoke or looked up. They boys were familiar with their mother's temper, and although they didn't see it often, they knew enough to keep their heads down and say nothing. Even Nick was unusually silent, although unlike the rest of them, he seemed to be in a very good mood.

When they arrived at the house, Angie told the boys to go to their rooms and stay their until they were called for dinner. They gladly fled, happy that whatever this was about, it didn't involve them.

Angie fixed the rest of them with a steady glare.

"We all need to talk. All of you, in the living room, now!" Tony started to ask her again what was wrong, but she just repeated, "Living room, now!"

In a softer tone, she turned to Dagwood, who was now looking very worried, afraid that some of this anger would be directed towards him.

"Dagwood, would you please help Lucas to his room? Make sure he has a hot shower and puts something warm on, and get him into bed." She looked gently at Lucas, "Is that alright?"

He nodded gratefully.

"I'll bring you something to eat in a little while, okay?"

Tony noticed that he needed Dagwood's help to get out of the van. Now he was getting worried.

"What is this? What's going on?"

She marched into the living room, and stood before them. She folded her arms and demanded, "So...who wants to be the first to tell me what happened today?"

Tony felt guilty under her furious gaze. "Is this about what I said to Lucas?"

Angie looked at him in surprise.

"What did you say to him?"

"Nick mentioned the way he is with Gina, and I got a little angry. He sat beside me at lunch, and said he thought she was 'funny'. I thought that was patronizing, so I told him he needed to treat her with respect. An' then I went to sit with Mom and Dad."

"Nick started this?"

"Well, he said something, then I saw how it was."

Angie turned to her brother, and said in an acid tone, 'My, my, Big Brother, you have been busy today, haven't you?"

Gina turned on Tony angrily. "You idiot! He told me he doesn't know any jokes, so I've been telling him jokes all day! Knock knock jokes, and lightbulb jokes! He said I was really funny, and I should be on TV, you moron!"

Tony felt like a heel. "I'm sorry, I just thought..."

"Yes, we know what you thought. And why. So Nick, care to explain what happened next? And why?"

He made the mistake of trying to bluster his way out of it.

"I didn't do or say anything, I don't know what you heard, but I didn't do anything."

"Is that right? Okay then, we'll just sit back and let Gina tell us what happened."

All eyes turned to Gina. She licked her lips and started to speak.

"I was trying on some clothes in the fitting room, and I heard Uncle Nick and Lucas outside."

Tony was watching his father, and saw the sudden guilty look on his face.

"Uncle Nick started telling Lucas that he should give you some money for Christmas, because you didn't join SeaQuest to become his nanny and have to look after him all the time, and you weren't doing it just for his 'gratitude'."

Tony felt like hed been punched. "No, Nick, tell me you didn't say that..."

"Then he made some comments about...well, about...whether or not you had to, you know...do everything for him," she blushed deep red, "like take him to the bathroom and stuff. He said he didn't know how much of him 'worked', and maybe you didn't have to worry about me at all."

Everyone stared at Nick in horror. Tony felt sick. "Oh, God..."

"Then he said that he owed some people some money, and that we'd have to sell the house, and if Lucas was really grateful to you, then he'd give us the money so we could keep living here."

Marie looked at her husband, horrified. "Nick...you told him THAT? You asked that boy for money? How could you?"

Gina looked at her mother. "Is it true?"

"It was something that we talked about, yes. Your uncle wants his share of the house, and it is his by right. He's entitled to ask for it whenever he wants." She went over and took her daughter's hand. "Don't worry, whatever happens, we'll be fine."

Nick spoke up. "Hey, it's okay, he said he'd give us the money!"

They all looked at him, incredulous. Angie recovered first.

"On what planet does that make anything 'okay'! You made an eighteen year old disabled boy feel that he was a burden, told him he should pay his friends to help him, insulted his manhood and then asked him for money, did I get everything? Do you have no shame at all? What is wrong with you?!"

"Hey, I did it for all of us! Tony's always doing stuff for him, helping him out, carrying his stuff, staying up nights..."

He shouldn't have mentioned the last part, because it reminded Gina.

"Oh! Yes! He said that too! He told him that you complained that you and Dagwood didn't get any sleep at night because of his 'moaning and crying and nightmares'!"

Tony looked horror struck. "I didn't mean it like that! I wasn't complaining! I felt bad for him 'cause he doesn't get much rest at night!"

Tony turned, stricken, to Angie and Gina. "What did he do?"

"He said he'd give Nick the money, but his voice sounded really weird. Then I don't know what he did. Mom found him outside, he was freezing!"

"I don't think he knew what he was doing. When I found him, he was covered in snow - soaked to the bone and ice cold. We'll be lucky if he didn't catch his death out there!"

Nick tried to bluster again. "He'll be fine, you worry too much! Besides, he said he'd give us the money, you get to keep the house! Isn't that the important thing?"

Tony stood up.

"No, Nick, it isn't. But I have no idea how to explain that to you. For now, I think it would just be better if you went home."

"Tony..."

"Nick, just go home. I don't want to deal with you right now."

His mother stood up as well. "I think your father and I need to have a little talk. Call me in the morning, and tell me how everything is?"

Tony nodded, and kissed his mother as they left.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony stood for a moment on the threshold of Lucas' room. He felt awkward and embarrassed.

"Hey Dagwood, how's he doin'? He sleepin'?"

He moved forward into the room and saw two blue eyes looking at him.

"Guess not." He sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Lucas tried to smile. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, fine, let's pretend that's what that word means."

Lucas did smile a little a that. "Really, Tony, I'm okay. I just got a little cold, that's all."

"You're not meant to get cold, that's the problem. What happened?"

He saw Lucas flush, and said awkwardly, "No, not that. Gina told us about that, she overheard."

Lucas looked away, embarrassed, and Tony hurried on.

"I meant afterwards. Why d'ya go outside, it was freezing out there?"

"I don't know. It was like the day I got here. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe, I just had to get out of there. I didn't even notice the cold. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"Oh God, Lucas, don't apologize to me! My stupid father..." Tony turned to Dagwood, who was trying to make sense of the conversation. "My stupid father told him a whole bunch of stupid stuff, including that he keeps us awake at night and he should pay us to help him."

He watched Lucas from the corner of his eye as he said this, and saw from his face how deep the wound had gone. No-one had told Lucas that he often cried and moaned in pain while he slept, and he only knew about the nightmares that jolted him awake.

"But that's wrong,'said the Dagger, innocently, "we want to help him because he's our friend. Why would we want money for it?"

"I don't know either Dagwood, but people can have stupid ideas sometimes."

"Expecting to sleep all night without your roommate waking you up is not a stupid idea. I didn't know."

"Because it doesn't bother us, does it Dagwood?"

He shook his head.

"I only told my mother because I was worried about you. I wasn't complaining, I was worried about how much pain you were in. Do Dag and I look like we're sleep deprived and suffering? No, we don't, because we're not. Are we, Dagwood?"

"No Tony. I get lots of sleep. And Daggers don't need much anyway. I get bored sometimes at night when everyone else is sleeping."

Tony grinned. "Ya see? You're giving him something to do!"

"And what about you? You're not a Dagger, you still need sleep."

"And I get plenty, don't worry. If I ever need more, I'll go back to our old room and the crappy shower."

Lucas genuinely smiled at that, and it turned into a yawn.

"Speaking of sleep! Hey Dagwood, would you go and ask Aunt Angie for some food before he falls asleep? Thanks!"

"I'm not hungry."

"Doesn't matter, you need to eat something." When it looked like Lucas was going to protest further, he added, "you know how bad it is when you take those meds on an empty stomach."

Lucas admitted defeat.

Tony helped him to sit up, and noticed that he was trembling.

"Any reason why you're shaking?"

"Don't know. Maybe the cold, maybe just reaction. It's been a ...difficult day."

"King of the Understatement! Let us know if it gets worse, okay?"

"Okay."

Angie came in with a mug of soup, and a bread roll. He tried, but couldn't manage more than a few sips, and wouldn't touch the bread at all.

"I'm sorry, I just...can't."

"Do you feel sick?"

He just nodded.

"Okay."

Tony looked worried. "I don't like giving you the meds without something in your stomach."

"Sorry Tony, I really did try. I just can't."

"Okay, we'll have to risk it, I guess, and hope for the best. Here ya go."

He swallowed the pills and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

When he next awoke, the clock beside the bed read 10.45pm. The house was quiet, the only sound he could hear was Dagwood's steady breathing. The nausea had returned full force. He lay for a few minutes wondering if he could just lie there and wait for it to subside. He was shaking again and freezing cold.

He didn't want to disturb Dagwood - he would have been hesitant anyway, but after today's revelations, he really didn't want to wake him. Moving as quietly as possible, he moved to the bathroom. He made it just in time, losing what little there was in his stomach, including the pills he had taken earlier. He sat in the cold bathroom until he was sure that nothing more was going to come up and then returned to bed. Dagwood moved slightly, but didn't wake. Surprisingly, he fell straight back to sleep.

* * *

When Lucas woke up next, and the clock beside the bed read 3.00am. He was aware that his back and legs felt as though they were on fire, and he realized that he had thrown up his pain meds, and that he hurt everywhere. He was shivering still, and tried to take a deep breath to control it. It didn't work. Just the act of breathing in seemed to hurt and make everything worse. He thought that if breathing hurt then moving would be near to impossible, but he had to try and get to his pain pills. Bracing himself, he positioned his arms and tried to push himself up.

The pain was blinding. He made a small cry and fell back, his breaths now interrupted by whimpers of pain.

"Lucas? Lucas, are you alright?" Dagwood was suddenly there beside him.

"Hurts," he said through gritted teeth.

Dagwood could see him shaking. "I'm going to get Tony."

Lucas shook his head. "Don't..."

Dagwood was already heading out of the room and bounding upstairs to the room Tony shared with his cousins. He pushed open the door, and called in.

"Tony?"

Dagwood's rush upstairs had not been quiet, and neither was his call. Everyone seemed to be moving about now.

"Dagwood?" Tony voice was thick for a minute while he got his bearings. Then he realized why Dagwood might need him. "Lucas?"

Dagwood nodded.

"Okay, I'm coming, I'll be right there."

Dagwood turned and ran back downstairs. The whole house seemed to shake with his heavy footsteps.

Tony turned to his cousins. Typical teenagers he thought, they had barely woken up. He headed to the hallway, and saw Angie and Gina outside their rooms.

"Sorry, it's okay, go back to bed."

Gina looked worried but Angie pushed her firmly back into her room. Angie followed Tony as he headed downstairs.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't know yet."

They rushed into Lucas' room. Dagwood was standing by his bedside looking worried, while Lucas lay shaking on the bed.

Tony knelt down beside him.

"What's wrong, what's the matter?"

Through stuttering breaths, Lucas explained.

"S..s..sorry, didn't w..want to w..wake you..." he gasped.

"Okay, buddy, don't worry. Tell me what's wrong."

"C..cold..can't stop s..shaking...hurt's. W..was sick before, p..pills..."

"You threw up your pills? When?"

"Eleven."

Tony looked questioningly at Dagwood, who looked blank, and shook his head.

Lucas saw the exchange, and explained, "D..didn't want to wake you."

Tony guessed why, and buried his face in his hands. "Dammit, Lucas, I wish you weren't sick right now so I could slap you! You need to wake us when you need help!"

"D..didn't need help being sick. P..pretty good at it now..."

Tony didn't smile at the attempt at humor. He looked at Angie.

"Not sure what to do. If he has any drugs in his system, giving him more might be a bad thing. I don't think he's going to eat right now, but if I give them to him on an empty stomach he'll just bring them up again. And if I don't give him anything, he'll be in pain all night."

He bit his lip.

"Buddy, could you eat anything right now? Maybe just some dry bread?"

Lucas emphatically shook his head.

Angie made a decision. "I'm going to call Doc Jacobson."

Tony nodded gratefully. Doc Jacobson had been an old family friend for years.

"Hear that, Buddy, we're gonna get some help, you just hang in there, okay?"

"Gonna be sick."

"Okay, c'mon Dagwood." The Dagger sat on the bed, and at Tony's nod, lifted his friend's shoulders until he was raised to a sitting position. For a moment, Lucas' world went black.

"Lucas? Come on, buddy, you back with us?"

Through a haze of pain he heard his friend and nodded. Then he once again emptied what little he had in his stomach. Lucas leaned back against the dagger's chest, exhausted. Tears of pain ran down his cheeks.

Tony had never felt so helpless. He sat offering him sips of water, while Lucas strained his body in with dry heaves.

Angie came back in to tell them the doctor was on his way.

"Thanks Aunt Angie. Hey, do we have any more blankets? He's freezing!"

"I'll get some. Oh, and Irene used to have a hot water bottle, I'll see if I can find it."

"Thanks."

It seemed like a million years while they waited for the doctor, although in reality it was less than half an hour later that they heard a quiet knock on the door. Tony could hear them talking outside.

"Thank you for coming, we didn't know what to do."

"No problem, glad to help. He's in Irene's room?"

"Yes, go on in."

He walked in to see Tony and a Dagger holding a gaunt, pale young boy as he retched over a bowl. When he finished, he was shivering and the doctor noticed sweat on his brow.

"Hello, Anthony, how are you?"

"Hey, Doc, thanks for coming."

"No trouble at all. This must be Lucas?"

Lucas looked up with tired eyes.

"Hello Sir."

The doctor liked that. He had always addressed his elders that way. These days it was an archaic nicety, but he missed it.

"Looks like you've been having a busy night."

The boy smiled wryly. "You could s..say that."

"Anthony, care to fill me in?"

"Sure. Yesterday, he was out in the snow a little too long. Last night he didn't eat much before he took his meds. He woke up at 3am barely able to move, and told us that he'd been sick at eleven, and thrown up his pills."

"May I see what he took?"

Tony handed him the bottles, and he frowned.

"I have his medical records as well, Doc Perry made sure we brought them in case of an emergency. You want 'em?"

"Yes, thank you." He started to examine the boy. "Are you in pain now?"

"My back and l..legs." He answered through clenched teeth.

"What else?"

"S..stomach hurts, and headache."

"Well, that's understandable. Open wide."

He placed an old fashioned digital thermometer in Lucas' mouth, and placed a hand on his forehead. When he took it out, he frowned.

"Hmm. Let me see those records." He spent a few minutes reading them, and then went to his bag.

"Well, Tony, you're right that taking the pills on an empty stomach brought on the sickness, and bringing up the pills means that he is not currently enjoying any form of pain management. When he's sick his body is straining, and that's putting stress on the original injury to his back. Unfortunately, I imagine he couldn't eat last night because he seems to have picked up a bit of a bug, which was probably exacerbated by getting chilled yesterday. He's running a temperature."

Tony cursed.

Dagwood asked, "Can you make him better?"

The doctor reached into his bag and pulled out a hypodermic syringe.

"I will certainly try!"

Talking directly to Lucas, he explained, "I'm going to give you a painkiller that should help. It's a little stronger, so it should knock you out for a while, and you won't be in any pain. When you wake up, I want you to drink plenty of fluids, and make a concerted effort to eat, okay?"

Lucas nodded, and the doctor pressed the syringe to his neck. He eyes fluttered closed almost immediately, and Tony and Dagwood settled him back in the bed.

Angie, watching them, asked, "Will he be okay?"

The doctor sadly shook his head.

"I'm afraid I doubt it. From what I see of his current state of health, he'll be very lucky if this doesn't turn into something worse, and from his file it doesn't look like lucky is a word that's often used to describe Lucas Wolenczak."

Tony snorted. "Ya got that right. Kid has the worst luck of anyone I've ever met."

"He's lucky to have the two of you. Looks like you're good at taking care of him."

"He's our friend, we'll do what we have to, won't we Dagwood?"

"Dagwood likes to help Lucas!"

"We both do, Big Guy. So what do we do now? What happens if he gets worse?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there. For now, plenty of rest, plenty of fluids, keep him warm and try to get him to eat. If his fever builds, don't let him get too hot and call me immediately. In the meantime, I'll call Doctor Perry and see if there's anything else I should know. And if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me!" He smiled at Angie. "Don't worry, I'll see myself out."

Angie sat on Dagwood's bed, and put her arm around them.

"He was right, you know. He is lucky to have the two of you looking after him. I imagine that makes him feel better."

Tony grimaced.

"He would have felt a damn sight better if my father hadn't made his little speech. Not hard to guess why he didn't call anyone when he was sick earlier, and the first thing he said when we got in here was that he didn't want to wake us. He's always hated accepting help from anyone, but for a little while he had to and got used to it. Now it looks like we're gonna be back to square one again, and he's gonna be fighting us every step of the way."

He met his aunt's eyes.

"We weren't made to do this, we were given a choice. We could have said no, and let him be sent off to some nursing home or something. It just wouldn't be the same without him. He's like...family."

"And you don't have enough of them?" She asked, teasingly.

"I never had a little brother. And he never had anyone, really. Same with Dagwood. We look out for each other, don't we Dag?"

Dagwood nodded gravely.

"It must be hard for you though."

"It's harder for him. He's still just a kid. He can't even drink yet."

Angie leaned forward and kissed Tony on the cheek.

"I'm proud of you, Tony." She smiled, and turned to the Gelf, and to his surprise, did the same. "And you too, Dagwood. It looks like he's out now, anyway. You two should get some sleep as well. If the doctor's right, tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

The doctor was right.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Lucas couldn't keep anything down. Thankfully, his pain had lessened, but he was sore from bringing up everything in his stomach, and he still couldn't stop shaking.

They tried their best to get some fluids in him, but felt they were fighting a losing battle.

The doctor returned to check on him.

"He's becoming badly dehydrated. It might be better to check him into a hospital."

Lucas' eyes flew open. "No!" He cast a panicked look at Tony.

"Sorry, Doc, not an option. What else can we do?"

"A hospital would be the best place..."

Lucas' breathing began to sound strange, and Tony realized that he was hyperventilating. He grabbed his friend's hand and tilted his chin until they were eye to eye.

"No hospital, Lucas, while I can help it. Unless we can't look after you here, you're not going anywhere, I promise you that, okay?"

Lucas started to breathe normally again, and Tony turned to the Doctor.

"No hospitals, Doc. Sorry."

Doc Jacobson watched in concern. "Alright. I'll write you a prescription for a rehydrating solution, make sure he drinks it. And keep trying to get him to drink as much as possible, any clear fluids."

Dagwood spoke up. "He'll drink them, won't you Lucas?"

Lucas nodded tiredly. The doctor headed to the hall.

"Anthony, a word please!"

Tony squeezed Lucas' hand one more time and headed out. Even with the situation, he couldn't resist quipping, "What's up, Doc?"

The doctor ignored the pun. "What was that about?"

"When he first got injured, we had to go on assignment. They put him in a hospital until we got back. It was that one in news, the one they closed down. He nearly died in there. They kept him drugged and restrained. I was with the group that went to get him out, it was like hell in there. Don't imagine he ever wants to go near a hospital again."

"Of course! I read his file, I'm sorry, I didn't make the connection. No wonder he was upset. I didn't see anything about panic attacks in his file."

"No, I don't think he ever had one until he got here. Says something about my family, huh?"

"How many has he had?"

"That was his third. He had one when he first arrived and saw his room. Said it suddenly hit him. Then he had one yesterday when...well, my dad, he said a few things that weren't very nice. That was a bad one, he left the store and was outside in the snow when Angie found him. Probably what started this whole thing, huh?"

"No. As tempting as it is to blame your father for this, I imagine he picked up the bug a day or two before. It wouldn't have helped, though."

He thought for a moment. "I haven't had a chance to speak to Doctor Perry yet, but I see he's on a low dose anti-depressant. It might be a good idea to get him on something a little stronger, I'll try and speak with her about it. In the meantime, keep taking care of him, you're doing a great job!"

Tony went back into his room. Lucas watched him anxiously.

"Relax, he was just telling me what a great job Dag and me are doing!"

"No hospital?"

"Not if we can help it! We'll send the boys out and they can buy that stuff he was talking about. In the meantime, want to try drinking some more juice?"

* * *

By the afternoon, his stomach had settled enough that he was able to keep down the fluids they were giving him. He spent the day drinking (as he said) ridiculous quantities of juice and clear broth, and resting, and seemed to be feeling much better by the evening. He was even grumbling about having to stay in bed all day.

Angie managed to tempt him to eat some chicken noodle soup and bread. She sat with him as he ate, making light conversation. They started talking about how long the family had known Doc Jacobson, and how well he had looked after the irascible Great Aunt Irene.

"Angie?"

"Yes, Honey?"

"How long have you lived in this house?"

She looked very far away as she answered. "I've lived here all my life."

"Nick wasn't lying, was he? He needs you to sell the house so he can use the money."

"No, he wasn't lying. Not about that, anyway. But he was wrong to involve you, this is none of your concern."

"But you'd have to sell the house?"

"Maybe it would be nice to have a change!" She smiled again, a false smile this time, trying to be brave. "Might be good for us, a change of scene. We could use some shaking up! All finished?"

He nodded, and she took his plate away. By the time they went to sleep, they all felt that he was getting better.

* * *

They sat together in the family room. It was early, but Lucas was sleeping so soundly that it seemed likely he would be out for hours. They left the door ajar, so they could hear him if he woke.

Dagwood was once again devouring cookies, this time accompanied by hot apple cider. They sat quietly, holding their mugs.

Ricky broke the silence.

"Man, he is really sick, isn't he?"

Tony nodded. "He's been through a lot. Now his immune system is shot to hell, every little thing's gonna knock him back."

Eddie spoke up.

"Your mom told us what happened. Pretty awful alright!"

Angie smiled at the understatement. "He isn't having a lot of luck right now, but I'm sure he'll feel better soon."

Gina looked around the room.

"You know the worst part? We were talking, at the store, y'know? And I was going to tell you when we got home, but then everything happened and I never got the chance, and then with everything today, there wasn't a good time to bring it up..."

Tony put his face in his hands. "Aw, no! What now?"

"Oh, nothing like that! It's just, we were talking, and I asked him his star sign..." she blushed a little, "you know, just out of curiosity. And he said he didn't know. So I asked him, when's his birthday?"

She paused, seeing she had their attention.

"It's December 23rd. Tomorrow."


	10. Chapter 10

Dagwood sat watching Lucas as he slept. He was shivering, but he looked like he was sweating as well.

"Lucas?" The Gelf put out his hand to shake his friend awake. He mumbled something, but wouldn't wake up. Dagwood was surprised by the heat coming off him.

This time, Dagwood went upstairs more quietly. He found Tony and covered his mouth before waking him. Tony's eyes flew open.

"Tony," he whispered.

Tony quickly got up and followed him back to his room.

Lucas was moving restlessly in his sleep. He put a hand to Lucas' forehead, and pulled it back quickly. The boy was burning up.

"Dagwood, go get a bowl of cold water and some washcloths."

He knew Lucas would be too hot in what he was wearing, and began to pull off his sweats, leaving him in just his boxers.

Dagwood hurried back in with the water.

"Thanks Dagwood. We need to cool him off, okay?" He grabbed a washcloth and wiped the sweat off Lucas' face and neck. "Like this..."

Dagwood took over while Tony ran to the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer.

"Shit! It's 103.2°. I'm going to get Aunt Angie."

They were back in minutes. As she walked in, Angie saw him uncovered on the bed, clad in only his boxers. For the first time, she saw the full extent of the damage.

She felt sick. Long scars ran down the length of both legs, and his right thigh and calf was pitted and gouged where flesh and muscle had been damaged. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of all he had gone through.

"It ain't pretty, is it?"

"Can they fix this?"

"The doc thinks he might be able to walk again, but he'll probably always need a stick or a walker. She says he'll probably always be in pain as well, there was too much nerve damage."

"Oh, the poor boy!"

"Don't let him know you've seen it, okay? He hates pity."

"I know, I won't."

She rechecked his temperature. "I'm going to call Doc Jacobson again."

He got there within the hour. Like Angie, he paused for a moment when he saw the full extent of the boy's injuries. Then he got to work.

"Well, it looks like you're doing all the right things. Good work, Dagwood. Don't forget to wipe down the chest as well, keep him as cool as possible. What was his temperature earlier?"

"103.2"

"It's 104.6 now. I don't like how quickly it's going up." He thought for a moment. "Angie, you have a tub in the main downstairs bathroom, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Tony, start running a cool bath - not cold, just cool. Dagwood, pick him up and follow me. Angie, would you mind putting some fresh sheets on the bed? These are a little damp now."

Dagwood placed him in the cool water, while Tony grabbed some towels.

He continued to shake, and was murmuring nonsense as he tried to move about.

Dagwood gently held him in place, while Tony grabbed another washcloth and washed him with the cool water.

The Doctor smiled at him.

"Look at you, you're so responsible now!" he teased. "When I think of the things you got up to when you were younger. Wasn't even that long ago!"

"Yeah. He's like my little brother, y'know? He can be annoying as hell, but when I thought we were going to lose him..."

"Must have been scary."

"It was. And then he left SeaQuest for the hospital, and that nearly killed him again. So now, Dagwood and me, we're gonna try and look after him when he can't look after himself. When he'll let us. He has the hardest time accepting that anyone could want to help him, and then my Dad goes and says what he said..."

"People say stupid things all the time, you know that. He probably didn't even realize what he was saying. I've known your father a long time, and, if you'll forgive me, his mouth frequently runs ahead of his brain. But you're not like that, Anthony, and I know that you can make this right again. Friendships like this, they weather the storm. You just need to give it a little time."

For someone who had been giving this advice - 'give it a little time' - to Lucas, he didn't like to hear it applied to himself. He wanted to fix this now, not wait for time to heal the wound. He scowled, and continued to wipe Lucas' face.

Dagwood spoke up. "He seems better now."

He did seem calmer. Jacobson took his temperature again.

"Well spotted! 103.7, it's coming down. Let's get him dried off and back to bed."

He tossed and turned for the remainder of the night, but his temperature continued to drop slowly.

* * *

He woke in the morning to find Dagwood next to him in the chair, and Tony asleep on Dagwood's bunk.

"Dagwood?"

"Good morning, Lucas."

"What happened? Why are you...sitting there?"

His voice was dry and rasping. Dagwood handed him a cup of water and he started to drink, which ended in a coughing fit. They both turned to see if he'd woken Tony, who remained sprawled out on Dagwood's bed.

"Doctor Jacobson says you have the flu."

Lucas closed his eyes for a minute, and rubbed his hand across his face.

"Oh, great. Just keeps on getting better, doesn't it?"

Dagwood looked confused. "You are getting better. You were really sick last night."

"Did I wake everyone up again?"

"No...but I woke up Tony, and he got Angie and the doctor."

Lucas groaned. "I just can't seem to let anyone rest, can I?"

Tony grumbled from the bed, "Well right now you could stop talkin' and go back to sleep, if it bothers you so much!"

Lucas immediately became contrite. "I'm sorry Tony, I didn't mean..."

Tony came over to him, but spoke to Dagwood.

"Looks like we're doin' this again. Ain't that fun!"

Turning to Lucas, he said, "Listen, we don't mind, we just worry about you and want you to feel better. An' a big part of that is telling us when you're not feeling great. Doc says you must have felt this coming for a day or two?"

Lucas looked shamefaced.

"I had a sore throat when we went shopping, but I didn't think anything of it. I'm so used to feeling rotten, I'm not sure what's unusual anymore."

"Well, I guess that makes sense. How d'ya feel now?"

"I feel better. I'm really sorry about all this."

"Stop saying that, you don't have to be sorry."

"But I am! I'm disturbing everyone in the night, I'm ruining everyone's Christmas, I'm sure everyone wishes I hadn't..."

Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by another bout of coughing. He tried to push himself up, but Dagwood quickly got there ahead of him, placing himself behind him to support him. After his coughing had ceased, he leaned back against Dagwood's chest.

Tony looked at his friend.

His face was pale with dark circles under the eyes. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on his brow. He hadn't managed to gain any real weight since he'd returned from the hospital, and Tony really believed that he hadn't known he was getting sick because he usually felt so bad.

And then, you added in all the psychological stuff. It was going to be hard for him anyway, but all the stuff from Nick really hit home, and now Tony felt like they were going backwards. He needed to at least try and fix this.

"I guess I've said this to everyone but you, so I may as well say it to you. We were really scared that we was gonna lose you after the accident, all of us were. Tim was praying by your bedside, heck, even Commander Ford was sitting there beside you for hours. When we had to leave you, Hudson thought he was gonna have a mutiny on his hands. He nearly did, but we all believed it was for your own good."

Lucas was watching him intently.

"Did you know that every single crewmember worked to get the boat ready in record speed so we could come and get you? All of us worked through the night, even Hudson rolled up his sleeves to help."

He saw Lucas' eyes widen in surprise.

"When we saw that place...God, Lucas, it was like hell. The smell alone...we couldn't even speak to each other, we were terrified that we'd lost you after all. And then we got you back, and you went through all that stuff, but you pulled through, and it was so great for all of us, having you back. It IS great having you back."

He picked up his friends hands and squeezed them in his own. He no longer felt self conscious about doing this, recognizing his friend's need for contact.

"We don't care about missing a night's sleep here and there, no-one does. What we do care about is you. We just want you to get better. We know, even if you don't, that it's going to take a long time, but that doesn't matter - does it Dagwood?"

"No, Tony."

"And, while we're talking about this, we're not doing this for any kind of payout, and no-one made us do anything. Nothing is going on here that we didn't volunteer for, okay? We knew what we was getting into, didn't we, Dagwood?"

"Captain Hudson and Doctor Perry talked to us for a long time and told us a lot of stuff. Then they asked us again if we wanted to do this. We said yes."

"See? So we don't want to hear anymore 'didn't want to bother you's' or 'I'm sorry's' or anything else in that line. We just want our friend to get better, okay? Do you get that? Wouldn't you feel that way if it was one of us lying there?"

Lucas nodded, and was horrified to find tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sor..." He stopped himself. "I don't know why I'm..." He gestured to his face and wiped his eyes.

"It's all those drugs, they're making you a little crazy. Another thing to think about when you start getting those crackpot ideas of yours." Tony grinned.

"Just remember, pretty much everything you think right now is batshit!"

Lucas laughed.

"Do you think you could eat some breakfast?"

"I can try."

"See? That's all we ask!"


	11. Chapter 11

Lucas really wanted to get out of bed - he felt as though he had been there forever - so they decided that he could join the rest of them at the table for breakfast.

As usual, there seemed to be a mountain of food, but as well as the usual fare, which included his favorite cinnamon rolls, he noticed bowls of fresh fruit - strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, and slices of fresh cantaloupe.

Apparently, this was unusual, because Eddie leaned over and grabbed one of the bowls.

"Wow, strawberries, great!"

Gina grabbed the bowl from him, and handed it to Lucas.

"They're for our guest!" She smiled sweetly, and handed him the bowl. "Here! We got these for you!"

Lucas blushed, confused and embarrassed. "Er...thank you?"

"But before you start, here!" She handed him an envelope. "Happy Birthday!"

He stared at her in shock. He opened the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of card with a hand drawn picture of a dolphin on it. He opened it slowly, and confetti fell everywhere, to everyone's amusement. Inside, it read "Happy Birthday Lucas", and everyone had signed it.

He felt a lump in his throat, and the look in his eyes expressed everything he was feeling.

Tony broke the emotion of the moment.

"Hey, we gonna eat or what? Come on, Birthday Boy, hand over them strawberries."

* * *

He ate more than he could have believed, even Angie seemed satisfied. By the end of breakfast, he was yawning again and was sent back to bed. Tony helped get him settled, and then sat on the bed.

"Hey, Luke?"

He didn't even have the energy to correct him, but forced his eyes to stay open.

"Listen, we're gonna have a nice dinner for you this afternoon, but...well, Mom and Nick are gonna be there, okay? He's really sorry, Mom gave him a good talking to, and he wants to apologize."

Lucas looked at him nervously.

"Look, you're gonna see him again while you're here, he's always around. And he's my Dad an' all, so I'd like it if the two of you could be in the same room. He's really sorry. That's the great thing about Nick, he's always really sorry afterwards. We won't leave you alone together, we'll make sure someone's always with you, alright? Is that okay?"

Lucas honestly never wanted to see Nick again in his life, but for Tony, he would do this. He was, after all, the one who told Tony that he needed to have a better relationship with his father.

He nodded, and gave an insincere smile.

"Sure Tony, that's fine."

Tony could see that the smile was as fake as a nine dollar bill, but he was grateful to get even that. He wasn't so sure that he could be so forgiving.

"Thanks Lucas. Now get some rest. It's going to be a loud afternoon!"

* * *

Because of the short notice, no-one had the opportunity to buy a gift for him, except for Gina, who presented him with a beautiful blue scarf - exactly the color of his eyes, her mother noticed.

He wore it for the rest of the day.

Angie made a dinner with all his favorite foods, and again, he was surprised by how much he ate.

Marie, trying to atone for her husband's insensitivity, had made him a beautiful cake.

They brought it in with the candles lit, and she explained shyly, "I wasn't sure how many candles to put on, I'm sorry."

He couldn't help but laugh a little. "That's the problem, nobody knows! I've decided to go with nineteen. It seems more believable."

Nick joined in. "Good choice, you certainly don't look twenty nine!"

Lucas smile faltered a little, but remained in place, although those who knew him well saw that it was an effort.

He had accepted Nick's apology, and even shaken his hand, but he watched him as though the man was a snake about to strike.

* * *

By the end of dinner, Lucas was exhausted again. He didn't want to appear ungrateful by leaving, but his head was aching and the party seemed to be getting louder.

Once again, it was Angie that rescued him.

Quietly walking over to him, she said, "Why don't you go to bed? You look tired."

He nodded, "I am. Angie, do you have a minute?"

'Of course, Lucas."

She followed him into his room. "What's wrong, Honey? Do you need some help?"

"I want to give you the money."

Her eyes flashed. "No! No, absolutely not, we are not taking your money! Nick had no right to ask you!"

Tony had seen them leave, and came into the room.

"Hey, what's up? You okay?"

"I want to give your father the money he needs, so Angie can keep the house."

Tony was as vehement as Angie.

"Oh, hell, no! You shouldn't be giving us anything. We're taking care of you because we want to, not because we want your damned money."

"I know that." He grinned, wryly. "If you just wanted money, there are damn easier ways to get it than what you've been doing."

"Lucas..."

"Look, I know you're not helping me because you want any money, okay? I also know that you never would have asked me for it. But you're the one that keeps telling me that I need to accept help when I need it, so how is this different?"

"I dunno. It just is. It doesn't feel right, it feels like we're taking advantage."

"Do you think it feels right to me when you have to help me get out of the shower, or put me to bed? Do you think it doesn't feel like I'm taking advantage when your whole family is woken up in the middle of the night, and is now looking after me?"

"That's different."

"Really? How?"

Tony searched for a reason. He knew it felt wrong, it was different than helping him, it was...

"It's like you're paying me! I'm doing this because you're my friend, not because you're giving me money!"

"So, why can't I help you like you're helping me?"

Angie intervened. " Lucas, we know you want to help. But we're not going to take your money."

"Angie, with the money that you have left from the sale, what kind of place will you be able to afford?"

"Honey, it's not your problem."

"Maybe not. But I'm the one with the solution. Which would be better, taking money from me, or raising Gina in a rat infested tower block somewhere? Having Ricky and Eddie walk past drug dealers every time they come home?"

She bit her lip. She knew very well that this was the most likely outcome with her financial situation.

"I love this house. I've never really stayed in a real home before, with a real family. I want to you to stay here, I want to think about you all being here. Maybe one day I can come back and stay with you again?"

"Oh, Lucas, baby, you can always stay with us, anytime you want, you know that, you don't need to give us money."

"Really? You think the next place you buy will have wheelchair accessible accommodations?"

He could see that he was winning.

"Just take the money. I have it, you need it." He smiled at Tony. "And if you let me help you when you need it, I promise to always ask you for help when I need it, how's that?"

Seeing that Tony was wavering, he added, "Would you really feel better if your aunt and cousins were living in a slum? Because you know that's what they're facing."

Tony rubbed his face with his hands and then nodded. "Yeah, I know." And then, defeated at last, 'Okay. You win. Thanks Lucas."

Angie looked aghast. "Tony!"

"You know he's right, Aunt Angie. It's the only way you get to keep the house. Take the money."

"Tony..."

"Take it, Aunt Angie. Take it for Ricky and Eddie and Gina. What else are you gonna do?"

Lucas saw the resignation in her eyes. She nodded, defeated. He turned to Tony.

"Tony, will you go and get Nick?"

When Tony came back with Nick, he saw that Lucas had some papers and a pen. Nick looked around, curiously.

"I'm giving you the money, Nick."

"Hey, you are? That's great, thanks Kid!"

"But there are a couple of things I want to clear up first." He handed the papers and pen to Nick. "This contract states that you hereby renounce all future claims to this house. From this point on, the house belongs only to Angie, and it's hers in it's entirety."

Nick looked trapped. "Well, sure, no problem, but I don't need to sign anything, do I, Ang?"

"It's not up to her, it's up to me. And I'm not going to give you a penny until I have your signature. Tony can be our witness, is that okay, Tony?"

Tony grinned. "That's no problem Lucas! Then the next time he gets into trouble, it won't affect anybody else. I think it's a great idea, Aunt Angie!"

Reluctantly, but with no other choice, Nick signed the papers, and Tony signed as witness.

Lucas handed one set to Angie, and kept a set for himself. "That way they'll always be a copy on record. Now, just one more thing."

"Geez, what now?"

He spoke to Nick, but his eyes drifted to Tony. Tony couldn't read the look on his face.

"This is all the money that you or Tony will ever get from me, understand?"

Tony looked about to say something, but Lucas interrupted.

"No, let me finish, please. Tony, I know that you didn't want to take the money, I didn't want it to sound like that. But I'm making it very clear, right now, for your father."

Tony nodded.

"I will never give you any more money, and I will never give Tony any money, is that understood?"

"Yes, yes, no problem, anything you say."

Without another word, Lucas handed him a check. "There you go, $50,000. If I were you, I'd cash it quickly before these two change their minds."

Nick grabbed the check and stared at it in glee.

"Thanks Kid! Really, thanks!" He went outside to tell Marie.

The room was silent for a moment.

Angie walked over and hugged him, and kissed his cheek. He saw that she was crying.

"Thank you. There will always be a place for you here, anytime you want it. You'll be as welcome as the sunshine!" And then she, too, left.

* * *

Lucas rubbed his temples.

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"You look tired as well. Why d'ya do it tonight, it could have waited..."

"I didn't want them all to be worrying over Christmas. I wanted it to be finished."

"Thank you."

Lucas looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped himself.

"What is it? Spit it out!"

"What I said...about never giving you any money..." He trailed off, embarrassed.

"Go on."

"Is that really okay? Would it really not make a difference?"

Tony looked angry. "No, course not! What kind of person do you think I am?"

Lucas took a deep breath and looked his friend in the eye.

"Because I don't have any."

"You don't have any what?"

"I don't have any money."


	12. Chapter 12

"What do you mean, you don't have any money? You just gave Nick fifty grand!"

"That was most of what I had."

Tony's jaw dropped open.

"No, you're a Wolenczak! I thought your folks were loaded."

"They were. Then my father became obsessed with the World Power Project. He invested everything in it. He borrowed against everything we owned. Wolenczak Industries went bankrupt five years ago. We were the only ones still dumb enough to have anything invested in it, so it didn't really make the news, it just quietly disappeared. As far as I know, my mother's living on credit and is up to her ears in debt."

"But you invented stuff, right? I mean, the Vocorder, you get money for that, don't you?"

"Everything I did before Hyperion was invented when I was a minor. My parents managed all my finances. All I ever got was a small paycheck from the UEO. When we disappeared, my mother had me declared legally dead, and took what savings I had. When we got back, I discovered I was penniless."

"But the money you just gave Nick..."

"I got some compensation from the UEO for wrongful imprisonment. You remember, when we got back they arrested me up? Technically, I was a civilian. They had no right." There was a small tremor in his voice.

"How much did they give you?"

"Sixty thousand dollars."

Alarm bells started to ring in Tony's head. "Seems like a lot for a couple of days of wrongful imprisonment."

Lucas shrugged, and looked down at his hands. Tony saw that they were shaking. Funny, he thought, they had never talked about that. So much was happening at that time, he had never asked Lucas what it had been like to be locked up in jail, and whether he had been alright.

"Lucas?"

Lucas broke out of his reverie and quickly changed the subject.

"So that's all I had. I'm just like everybody else now."

Except you're not, thought Tony. You're nineteen years old and stuck in a wheelchair with no family and no money and the worst luck of anyone he had ever known.

"That settles it then, I'm getting that check back, you can't give us everything you've got."

"Why? Nothing's changed. I still don't want to see Angie and Gina living in a slum, and the boys joining the military because they have to find somewhere to go."

"But Lucas...you'll have nothing!"

"I've got a place to live, and a job, and that's all because of you. And I've got good friends..." He looked worried for a moment. "I think?"

Tony could see his insecurities rising to the surface again.

"You have really good friends. What, you think I won't be your friend anymore now that you've given us your last 50k?"

Lucas answered honestly, "It did cross my mind once or twice."

"Then stop it. I don't care how much money you have - although I should probably stop making you pay for all the cabs and the clubs! We're friends, Lucas, it's never been about the money, okay?"

"Okay."

Lucas suddenly felt drained.

"Tony, did Perry leave me anything for a headache?"

"Yeah, sure, let me grab 'em!"

Lucas nodded and went into the bathroom for a few minutes, coming back with a glass of water. Tony handed him the pills, which he swallowed quickly.

"Thanks."

"You ready for bed? You want the rest of your meds?"

Lucas nodded, moved over to the bed and quickly changed while Tony found the rest of his pills.

"Here ya go. Need anything else?"

"No, I'm fine now. Today was great, will you tell everyone I said thanks? You really do have a great family. I love your Aunt Angie. And it was really nice of your mother to make that cake. Does everyone in your family know how to cook like that?"

Tony grinned. "Yeah, it's a requirement! You know, you're part of this family too now, whether you like it or not. Angie loves you too, you were always going to be welcome here, whatever happened. But after what you did today..."

"Tony..."

"Don't 'Tony' me, I haven't said thank you yet, not properly. You did a really great thing today. I love my family. I love Angie and Gina and the boys, and I would have hated it if they woulda had to move because of my father. And if you tell anyone, I'll deck you, but I love my father too, and I woulda hated it if he'd have turned up at the bottom of a river somewhere for messin' with the wrong people."

"Tony, it's okay, you don't have to keep saying thank you..."

"No, you're right, I don't. That's the last time I'm gonna say it. Because helping each other is what families do, and you're family now. So swallow your meds and go to sleep, little brother, before big brother here has to make you!"

Lucas grinned. "Like to see you try!"

"Kidding me? You weigh like thirty pounds! It would be like wrestling a chicken nugget!"

"Yeah, but I've got Angie and Gina on my side..."

"You're right, they can be pretty scary!"

And smiling at the thought of it, he fell asleep.

* * *

The next day was Christmas Eve, and he once again woke up with a fever and a cough. Although he was ordered to stay in bed, Gina begged for him to be allowed to rest on the sofa, and he dozed and watched movies all day while everyone else bustled about him. Preparations for the next day's lunch were in full swing, and even Tony's beloved Aunt Rose and Uncle Paulie were expected. An extra table had to be brought in, chairs were hunted out from other rooms, the turkey was brined and the vegetables prepared, pasta dishes that could be made ahead were organized and platters of antipasto were arranged for when they returned from Mass that evening.

When Lucas started to worry about his idleness, Angie threatened to send him back into his room, but in truth, his returning fever left him exhausted.

When the bustle died down, they started to discuss going to Mass. Lucas was far too sick to be allowed to go, but also far too sick for anyone to be comfortable with him staying behind on his own.

Angie was singing with the choir, so she had to go, and would not dream of leaving any of the children with the responsibility of looking after their guest. Marie had been looking forward to attending Mass with her husband and son. Dagwood could have stayed behind with no problems, but Angie thought that he would enjoy going with them, and wanted him to have the experience.

In a moment of inspiration, she called Doc Jacobson. He happily agreed, and was invited to join them for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Seafood Pasta.

"Thank you so much for coming! I was sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve, but I didn't like to leave him alone."

"Don't worry about it, I was pleased to get a dinner invitation, even if there are strings attached!" he teased.

He saw Lucas asleep on the sofa.

"How is he?"

"Still quite warm, he's been mostly sleeping today."

"Best thing for him! I have always believed that the best medicines we have are food and sleep!"

* * *

Lucas woke up later, to soft lights and a quiet house. Confused, he saw that he was still on the sofa. Across the room he saw someone reading a book by a table lamp, and squinted for a moment to make out who it was.

"Doctor Jacobson?"

"Ah, Lucas, you're awake!"

He walked over and pressed his hand to the boys forehead, then pulled out a thermometer.

"Your temperature is lower, how are you feeling?"

"Okay...is everyone at Mass?"

"Yes, they left a little early to visit with everyone, you know how that is."

The doctor knew that Lucas wouldn't like to think that someone had to watch him. "I chose to stick around after dinner, and wait for some of those delicious looking platters to make their appearance. Angelina certainly knows how to feed people!"

Lucas smiled, but it turned into a yawn. "I'm sorry, I've done nothing but sleep all day, I don't know why I'm so tired."

"Right now, I imagine a little food will help. She made her famous pasta, and kept some warm for you. I'll go and fetch it for you, you'll think you're in heaven!"

He reached for his sweater and started to eat. The doctor was right, it was delicious.

"If you'll indulge me, I have a favorite film that I try to watch every Christmas Eve - are you familiar with 'A Christmas Carol'?"

"It's one of my favorites!"

They sat together in companionable silence and lost themselves in the film. After a little while, the doctor went into the kitchen and brought out some hot chocolate and cookies. As the movie ended, they heard the sounds of people outside.

The doctor stood up and stretched. "Perfect timing!"

They came in with in a bustle of cold air, noise and excitement. The service had been beautiful, it was snowing again, there had been a great turnout, everyone was there.

Lucas moved to make room for others on the sofa, and Tony and Dagwood sat beside him.

"Hey, how ya feelin'?"

"Better, thanks."

"Merry Christmas, Lucas!"

"Merry Christmas, Dagwood!"

He shivered slightly, and Marie grabbed a throw and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Lucas, you want some hot chocolate?"

"Oh, thank you, I've just had some."

"Doesn't mean you can't have more!"

"Then, yes, please!"

Angie, Marie and Gina bustled around with food and drink for everyone, as they talked and laughed into the early hours. Lucas fell asleep against Dagwood's shoulder, and was gently carried to bed, where he slept peacefully until morning.


	13. Chapter 13

He was woken with a start the next day by the sound of the doorbell and loud excited voices.

Looking around, he was shocked to see that it was almost 11am. His body ached, and he was pleased to see that someone had left his pills ready for him with a glass of water. He swallowed them hurriedly, and then went to get ready. He took the briefest of showers, and found Tony waiting for him when he came back to the room.

"Hey, Sleepyhead, you nearly ready?"

"Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so long. I'm trying to hurry."

"Well maybe if you took your time, you'd get somewhere," Tony observed, as Lucas dropped a pile of shirts. "Here, wear this one. I'll pick these up. Get some pants on! Anyway, don't worry so much, things usually start late on Christmas morning, everyone's tired after talkin' all night. We're still eating breakfast."

When they came out, Lucas thought to himself that it looked like the Ghost of Christmas Present had deposited his cornucopia of plenty in the middle of the breakfast table. He didn't think he'd ever seen so much food, it put all previous breakfasts to shame. Tony's Uncle Paulie shook his hand, and then turned back to talk to the boys, while his Aunt Rose gave Lucas a big kiss, and stared at him.

"Wow, look at you. We've heard so much about you! Tony talks about you all the time, my Angie had quite the crush on you! She's married now, with two beautiful babies, but boy, if she saw you now!"

Lucas blushed to the roots of his hair.

"Tony tells us you haven't been well, how are you feeling, Honey?" She put a hand to his forehead, "You still feel a little warm, you need some food in you! Here, let's get you started, you want some bacon?"

"Rose, he doesn't eat meat."

She looked horrifed. "Well, no wonder you look so frail, you need to eat meat!"

"Aunt Rose, he doesn't want any, trust me on this! Here, we got some meat substitute sausages, 'specially for you. Trust me, you won't have to fight anyone for them, they taste like shit!"

"Tony!"

He grinned. "Well, they do! And stop putting things on his plate, Aunt Rose, Dagwood would have a hard time finishing off that lot!"

* * *

After breakfast, everyone went to sit in the living room and chatted on the Vidlink to Tony's sisters and other relatives who couldn't be with them for the holidays.

Angie started to clear the breakfast things and set up the table for dinner. Lucas was beginning to wonder if she ever had the chance to do anything outside the kitchen. He started to help her clear the table.

"Lucas, you don't need to do that. Just rest for a while."

"Please, I want to. I'm so tired of not doing anything, I'm going to go crazy if I don't move around a little."

She understood. "Okay, but the minute you get tired, promise me you'll stop?"

"I promise," he said solemnly. And he meant it, there was no way he was going to overdo things and miss the rest of the day. Tony, Angie, Gina and Marie - all of whom were watching him like hawks - were all pleasantly surprised when a little while later, he put down the cutlery he was holding, and told Angie that he was going to rest for a little while.

Tony came into the room as he was lying down.

"Hey, look at you bein' sensible!"

"I don't want to miss anything today, I figure if I pace myself I can enjoy most of the day."

"See, that's why you're a genius! I'll come and get you when we're ready to open presents."

* * *

The gift giving was great fun.

Lucas had bought Tony a signed copy of an old Elvis album that he had spent months trying to track down. After Lucas' previous revelations, Tony didn't even want to think about how much it must have cost him.

The two of them had collaborated on a gift for Dagwood, a photo album already half filled, and a camera. They told Angie about their gift, and she gave Dagwood a series of pictures of himself with his snowman.

Everyone groaned at Tony's gift to Lucas of thick socks with non slip soles, but Lucas knew how often he had complained about his feet being cold since the accident. In fact, Lucas thought, there seemed to be a conspiracy amongst everyone to keep him warm. When Lucas gave Angie a small crystal angel, she gave him a thick, soft blanket, and Gina presented him with a matching hat and scarf.

Lucas, Tony and Dagwood had bought a video game for the boys, and Lucas promised to show them all the shortcuts.

Lucas felt his eyelids drooping, but was reluctant to leave the happy group. Surprisingly, this time it was Nick that rescued him.

In truth, Nick had been feeling guilty about the way he had spoken to the boy. He had got carried away, his mouth running away from him as usual, and he hadn't even realized what he was saying at the time. Now, without the worry of owing all that money, his head was clearer and he could see what he had done. The boy treated him like a threat, somehow even managing to never be near him, never looking at him and never speaking to him. When Nick spoke to him, he was polite enough, but Nick could tell that he was only doing that for Tony's sake.

And that was another reason why Nick felt guilty now. Marie had told him that it had only been because of Lucas that Tony had started to make an effort to repair their relationship. Even after everything that had happened, he was prepared to pretend to like Nick just so Tony could continue to spend time with his father.

Nick knew that had those things been said to him, he could never have forgiven the speaker, and, perhaps more importantly, would never forget the words. They would eat at that poor boy's soul in every dark moment he ever had.

And yet, he had given Nick the money. He had shaken his hand, and said he forgave him, and encouraged Tony to spend time with him still.

In short, he felt like a heel, and though Nick was many things, he wasn't a bad guy.

He'd been waiting for an opportunity to show Lucas how much he really meant his apology. So when he saw the boy rubbing his eyes and fighting to stay awake, he remembered how Tony had been as a child. So tired, and yet so determined not to be sent away to his room.

And he wouldn't have been Nick if he hadn't recognized an opportunity when he saw one.

Seeing Rose, Paulie and Tony chatting happily on the sofa, he realized that the first step was to get them to move. Inspiration struck.

"Say, Anthony, why don't you go over to the table and show Rose and Paulie the photo album you made for Dagwood - all those shots of you in your uniform?"

They thought it was a great idea, and immediately went to look at it. Determinedly, Nick grabbed a cushion from his chair and placed it next to the arm of the sofa. He looked around and found the blanket that Angie had given Lucas.

By now, the family was wondering what he was doing, and were waiting to see what would happen next.

He quietly walked over to stand beside Lucas' chair. "C'mon, Kid, I think you'd be a bit more comfortable over there, don't you?"

Everyone pointedly tried not to watch, and carried on talking with every semblance of normality while they waited to see what Lucas would do.

Lucas looked at him anxiously, as though he was waiting to see what the catch was.

"I'm not evil, Kid. I said some really mean, dumb things - things that weren't even true - and I'm sorry. You've done a lot for my family, and not just the money," he said quietly. "My boy wouldn't be talking to me now if it wasn't for you, I know that. So let me do something for you now. You're tired, but it's Christmas Day and you don't want to spend any of it alone in your room. So lie on the sofa for a few minutes."

"What if someone wants to sit down?"

"We have chairs. Ain't a person here who doesn't have enough padding on their rear end that they need it on their chairs! Just lie down on the couch for a bit. None of us want you to go to your room."

He looked around at that, and saw everyone studiously not looking at them, except for Tony, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Sure, thanks Nick." He moved over to the sofa and suddenly realized how tired he actually was. Nick threw the blanket over him, and he was asleep within minutes.

Marie walked over and kissed her husband's cheek.

"Times like this I remember why I fell in love with you."

* * *

Christmas dinner was always late in the evening, and Lucas was glad that he had slept for a little while.

Once again the meal was loud and boisterous, but this time Lucas and Dagwood felt included in the group and the conversation flowed happily. It was midnight when the party broke up and they all went to their beds.

Tony walked with Lucas and Dagwood to their rooms. Lucas could not stop yawning. Dagwood and Tony talked while Lucas brushed his teeth and swallowed his pills, and then, ignoring what little protesting there was, helped him get into bed.

He a slurred, sleepy voice, he said, "Tony, this was the best Christmas I've ever had. Thanks."

"Yes, Tony," agreed Dagwood, "Thank you. It was good."

"Hey, it was good having you guys here. Merry Christmas, an' all that!"

"Merry Christmas, Tony."

"Merry Christmas, Tony."

Tony thought about it as he climbed the stairs to his room.

When he first arrived on the SeaQuest, he had thought of Lucas as a spoiled little rich kid who got everything he wanted. He'd learned that wasn't the case as time went by, and he realized that Lucas had been working there full time since he was fifteen, for little or no pay, and that he never got calls from home, or spent time with his family on shore leaves.

On this trip, he'd learned a little more about Lucas' home life, but he still couldn't help but wonder how it was that this was the best Christmas he'd ever had? He was disabled, with constant nausea and pain, fighting the flu with a weakened immune system. He'd been belittled and insulted, by himself as well as Nick, and he'd experienced panic attacks so bad that he hadn't even noticed that he was freezing in the snow.

And this...THIS...was the best Christmas he'd ever had? It gave him plenty to think about.


	14. Chapter 14

Lucas' fever spiked again the next day, and he stayed in bed for the morning, although by the afternoon he was allowed to sleep on the sofa near his friends, half watching the endless stream of Christmas movies that Gina insisted on putting on.

Tony and Gina lay on cushions on the floor next to the sofa, and after a few minutes Dagwood joined them.

"Um, why are we sitting on the floor?"

"Cause it's fun, silly!" Gina admonished, and he said no more.

They ate popcorn, sharing a huge bowl of it between them. Dagwood watched the movies avidly, and they talked so much about them that Tony wondered how Dagwood could have any idea what was going on. Maybe Dagger hearing could allow him to talk and listen to Gina, and hear the dialogue? With Gina it didn't matter, since she'd probably seen every Christmas movie ever made, at least three or four times. Surprisingly, Lucas seemed very familiar with the films as well, making Tony wonder if he usually just spent Christmas watching the television on his own.

It was the first time since they'd been on leave that they got to enjoy a quieter day. The boys had gone to a friends house to play video games, and the parents sat at the dining table and gossiped about mutual acquaintances under the guise of playing cards. Every now and again, one of the women would check on Lucas, and try to make him eat something if he was awake. The rest of them picked at the leftovers and made ridiculous sandwiches out of things they found in the fridge, like mashed potato and linguine, which they would then declare to be disgusting, although Dagwood was happy to eat all of them.

Lucas once again felt better by the evening, and they all gathered around the table to play Monopoly, which was apparently another thing that Lucas had never done before. The game seemed to be played with an enormous amount of cheating, with only Angie and Lucas sticking to the rules and therefore losing quickly. Lucas couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun.

* * *

The next day was the day they had to leave.

Everyone was miserable, and to distract them, Tony asked Lucas to show Ricky and Eddie some of the shortcuts with the video game. This was a great idea, since Lucas revelled in being able to show off a little. After feeling so weak and useless during his stay, he enjoying hearing their gasps and whoops as he moved from level to level, completing the game in record time and thoroughly impressing them.

By the time the game was over, Tony and Dagwood had finished all the packing, and they just had time for a quick lunch before they left.

Angie had tears in her eyes and hugged all of them so hard that even Dagwood thought he might get a bruise. Gina was crying, and couldn't be consoled. Marie was also in tears, and Nick and Tony shared a rare but fierce hug.

They sat quietly in the van heading back to the SeaQuest, each lost in their own thoughts, even though all of their thoughts were the same.

It had been, without a doubt, a Christmas they would never forget.


End file.
